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Email sent 1 Dec 2018

Happy December Class of ’85,

Who too can say: “WTF…. Where did Fall go and I cannot believe it’s December already?” Yep, that’s me too! That all being said, as we catch our breath from hanging Christmas decorations and attending endless Christmas parties; let’s first remember those who gave us their ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and especially those from the USNA and our ’85 Family. Next, it’s Army week!! We know what that means: Eat, sleep and breath beating those Black Knights on Hudson next Saturday and Lincoln Financial. As part of that, here is the info I posted in a previous email:

With Navy’s home season complete, I have now turned my focus to the Army/Navy weekend in Philadelphia. I am once again pleased to announce we will have both a Friday evening event and Saturday pre-game tailgate. On Friday, we will meet up at the Misconduct Tavern at 1511 Locust Street in Philadelphia from 1730-2000. Here is a link for the Misconduct Tavern: http://www.misconducttavern.com/#about This event is cash bar and you can order drinks and food off the menu from the staff who will be accommodating us in a private room at the Pub. I have been to this Pub and the food and staff are great! On Saturday, we will be having an Indoor tailgate at Tollman Joe’s located at: 26 E Oregon Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19148 and their website it: https://www.tollmanjoes.com/location/toll-man-joes-e-oregon-ave/ Here are the details and menu for this event:

Bottomless Mimosas (Included)
$3 Domestic Beers
$4 Wines
*** They have a FREE shuttle to the game for those who are taking an Uber to this event or if you want to leave your car for FREE and take the shuttle.***

I will be collecting the event fee of $50 in the following manner: Paypal and Venmo at: md11driver85@gmail.com or you can hand me check or cash at either event for your payment (contact me because I need a headcount for both nights).
PLEASE sign up by the deadline of December 3rd at 2300 EST. There is no fee for the Friday event, but if you could please email or text me to let me know you are coming, that info will be very helpful: c: 502-432-6185 or robertsmith5@att.net. For paypal, PLEASE send your payment indicating it is for “Friends and Family”, otherwise, they take a fee and I lose money that paypal takes. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon at the Army/Navy weekend as Navy seems to be peaking for the right game. I will be putting out information, soon along with early sign ups for the Big 2020 Ireland Trip for Navy vs. Notre Dame. We will once again work with Tenon Tours like we did in 2012 and we are putting together some amazing travel packages for that event. More to follow, for now BEAT ARMY!!

See many of you next weekend and we are dedicating Friday night to those in our Class who specialized in “Misconduct” by proudly displaying a Black “N” Sweater. If you own one, bring it, if it happens to fit (unlikely), wear it. See you Friday and/or Saturday and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, sign up NOW if you are coming. Sign ups have been light so far and I need a head count please.

Happy Holidays,

Bob Smith ’85

Email sent 23 Oct 2018

Greetings again ’85,

Greetings from La Jolla, CA. Sherry and I are enjoying a mini-vacation prior to heading down to the Gas Lamp District for the Notre Dame weekend events starting this Thursday. For those of you going, I have reached out to you as a group with all the final details, here is a link if anyone needs a reminder of the events:

An ’85 Classmate does have 4 tickets in the ’85 seating area for $85 each. Please text or email me today if you are interested or he will look to sell them locally if no ’85 Classmate wants them. I can stlll squeeze you into all the class events and the motor coach if you did buy 2 or 4 of his tickets and would need to know right away. (Great opportunity if you can make a last minute trip for the game and parties). For everyone going, safe travels and I will see you soon.

Next, we had a great turnout for the Houston game/Homecoming this past Saturday, it was good to see many of you there and it was great tailgate. The Mids played hard and fell short, we all hope their improvements will keep coming as the ultimate preparation for the Army game on Dec. 8th in Philadelphia. The final home game is Saturday November 17th against Tulsa at 1530 and we will have the Class Grill fired up cooking brats, burgers and other meats; we’ll and have a sign up in a few weeks for needed sides and other items and look for that announcement. (We will provide the meats and grill masters).

Now, Army/Navy 2018 news: On Friday evening December 7th we will have our annual Army/Navy Class Cocktail party; this year is at the Misconduct Tavern (right?) located at: 1511 Locust St. in downtown Philly from 1730-2000. We have a private room reserved and all food and drinks will be Ala Carte that night from the bar menu for each party (If you have a Black “N” sweater that fits, bring it!). On Saturday, we will be indoor tailgating at Tollman Joe’s Bar located at: 26 E. Oregon Ave, Philly. from 1100-1400 that day (kickoff is at 1500). I am working with them to have a fixed menu served buffet style and drink discounts; I’m looking at $40 per head cost for food and space rental/shuttle service and will collect that via Paypal or Venmo in a few weeks. This is a Great Bar near the stadium ideal for an indoor tailgate (Popular Eagle’s pre-game spot). There will also be a shuttle from their bar to the stadium and free parking available for those driving in. More details will be coming as I finalize this event, mark your calendar and make plans, sign ups starting soon for Army/Navy weekend events, so stay tuned and sign up if you can make it.

All right, that is about all the news I have. For those of you not making the game this weekend, we know you will be looking for ’85 in the stands. Rest assured, as we always do, WE WILL WIN THE PARTY!! Get ready for Army/Navy and have a great Halloween. As always, I am available for any questions, comments or suggestions: robertsmith5@att.net or c: 502-432-6185. Go Navy and BEAT THE IRISH and ARMY!! Bob Smith ’85

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Email sent 24 Sep 2018

Class of ’85,

Greetings and welcome to Fall. I want, first off, to send out a HUGE thank you to all who gave to the class tailgate fund. I have, to date, collected over $2500 for Class tailgates and we are planning on some realy fun tailgates for remainder of the Navy home season and beyond:

-Temple on 10/13 at 1530

-Houston on 10/20 at 1530

-Tulsa on 11/17 at 1530

We will have fully catered tailgates for both the Temple and Houston games. Stay tuned that week for the SignUp Genius to announce the menus. We know that we will cater the Houston game from Mission Barbeque and the Temple game from Bo Brooks catering. Also planning a pre-game event for the Army-Navy game this year for both Friday night and then again on Saturday prior to the game. Stay tuned for more on those two events.

Now, an update and reminder for the San Diego weekend. Sign ups have been slow so far, less than 20 people signed up for the Friday and Saturday events. We sold 150 tickets at least for the game, so I planned my events based on those numbers to make sure we had the proper venue and menu. So, please reference my last email and the classwebsite for the sign up information on that weekend. Here is my last email if you need it for reference:

Greetings Class of 1985,

I am trying not to wear you out with Class emails and news, but I am of the hope that all of this is welcome and good news to most of you. I am proud to announce our Class of 1985 trip to San Diego officially kicking off, here is the schedule of events (the dates are October 25-27):

As you can see, we have a full weekend of events planned, the area near the Class hotel is full of places to see and things to do, so lots of opportunity between class events to make this into a nice vacation. If anyone is interested in playing golf on Friday morning, please contact me so we can put an outing together at a local course if there is enough interest. I will collect money for these events in the following manner:

Cutoff for these events is October 15, 2018. I have to get firm numbers to all my vendors by this time. It is helpful to have you sign up and pay sooner rather than later. If you pay via paypal, PLEASE PLEASE indicate you are sending money to Friends and Family and NOT a business or they deduct a service charge from your payment that I cannot recoup. Also, PLEASE PLEASEindicate what you are paying for and the number. For example: 2 Friday event, 2 Tailgate and 2 bus. I NEED this information as you can imagine. This is going to be another amazing weekend and as of now, I anticipate around 150 people or more attending the tailgate and game. For those in the hotel, the Friday night event is both easy and elegant with a great outdoor location by the pool. I am also working with Jim Berdeguez on a special edition football jersey for this event and will have details soon. All this information will be on the class website as usual. Please call, text or email me with questions. I can assure all of you I have worked hard to maximum value at an affordable price and the events will hopefully show this effort. Eco Caterers is an organic and environmentally friendly company that I am proud to be able to partner with for our Saturday Tailgate.
One more thing: Thanks to all who have donated to the Class of ’85 Tailgate Fund, as of today I have received over $1500 in donations and that number seems to grow every day. This helps me fund this year’s tailgating efforts and frees up class money I can use for the 35th Class Reunion in 2020, the reunion is well in the planning phases. It also helps me with cost overruns on these large events like the one in Hawaii. So, get signed up if you are coming or make travel plans if you have not made them yet and join us for what promises to be another GREAT Class of ‘85 “Mini-Reunion” as we just did in Hawaii. Cheers and Beat Memphis, I look forward to seeing many of you in San Diego.

PS: If you signed up previously for this weekend on the class website, I still need you to sign up and pay for these events. That sign up was to give us preliminary numbers only.

Bob Smith ‘85
Cell: 502-432-6185

SO, always, PLEASE help me help you and if you are coming, go ahead and sign up. If you cannot make it and have tickets to sell, I have takers for your tickets. PLEASE contact me with questions or comments regarding San Diego or any other event or class matter. Once again, thanks for those who contributed to our GREAT Class of ’85 Tailgates. (I was also able to rent our own dedicated class portable restroom from your donations which has received rave reviews). Go Navy and BEAT EVERYONE…. Especially Army. Bob Smith ’85

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Email sent 25 Sep 2018

Class of ’85,

Greetings and welcome to Fall. I want, first off, to send out a HUGE thank you to all who gave to the class tailgate fund. I have, to date, collected over $2500 for Class tailgates and we are planning on some realy fun tailgates for remainder of the Navy home season and beyond:

Temple on 10/13 at 1530

Houston on 10/20 at 1530

Tulsa on 11/17 at 1530

We will have fully catered tailgates for both the Temple and Houston games. Stay tuned that week for the SignUp Genius to announce the menus. We know that we will cater the Houston game from Mission Barbeque and the Temple game from Bo Brooks catering. Also planning a pre-game event for the Army-Navy game this year for both Friday night and then again on Saturday prior to the game. Stay tuned for more on those two events.

Now, an update and reminder for the San Diego weekend. Sign ups have been slow so far, less than 20 people signed up for the Friday and Saturday events. We sold 150 tickets at least for the game, so I planned my events based on those numbers to make sure we had the proper venue and menu. So, please reference my last email and the class website for the sign up information on that weekend. Here is my last email if you need it for reference:

Greetings Class of 1985,

I am trying not to wear you out with Class emails and news, but I am of the hope that all of this is welcome and good news to most of you. I am proud to announce our Class of 1985 trip to San Diego officially kicking off, here is the schedule of events (the dates are October 25-27):

As you can see, we have a full weekend of events planned, the area near the Class hotel is full of places to see and things to do, so lots of opportunity between class events to make this into a nice vacation. If anyone is interested in playing golf on Friday morning, please contact me so we can put an outing together at a local course if there is enough interest. I will collect money for these events in the following manner:

Cutoff for these events is October 15, 2018. I have to get firm numbers to all my vendors by this time. It is helpful to have you sign up and pay sooner rather than later. If you pay via paypal, PLEASE PLEASE indicate you are sending money to Friends and Family and NOT a business or they deduct a service charge from your payment that I cannot recoup. Also, PLEASE PLEASEindicate what you are paying for and the number. For example: 2 Friday event, 2 Tailgate and 2 bus. I NEED this information as you can imagine. This is going to be another amazing weekend and as of now, I anticipate around 150 people or more attending the tailgate and game. For those in the hotel, the Friday night event is both easy and elegant with a great outdoor location by the pool. I am also working with Jim Berdeguez on a special edition football jersey for this event and will have details soon. All this information will be on the class website as usual. Please call, text or email me with questions. I can assure all of you I have worked hard to maximum value at an affordable price and the events will hopefully show this effort. Eco Caterers is an organic and environmentally friendly company that I am proud to be able to partner with for our Saturday Tailgate.
One more thing: Thanks to all who have donated to the Class of ’85 Tailgate Fund, as of today I have received over $1500 in donations and that number seems to grow every day. This helps me fund this year’s tailgating efforts and frees up class money I can use for the 35th Class Reunion in 2020, the reunion is well in the planning phases. It also helps me with cost overruns on these large events like the one in Hawaii. So, get signed up if you are coming or make travel plans if you have not made them yet and join us for what promises to be another GREAT Class of ‘85 “Mini-Reunion” as we just did in Hawaii. Cheers and Beat Memphis, I look forward to seeing many of you in San Diego.

PS: If you signed up previously for this weekend on the class website, I still need you to sign up and pay for these events. That sign up was to give us preliminary numbers only.

Bob Smith ‘85
Cell: 502-432-6185

SO, always, PLEASE help me help you and if you are coming, go ahead and sign up. If you cannot make it and have tickets to sell, I have takers for your tickets. PLEASE contact me with questions or comments regarding San Diego or any other event or class matter. Once again, thanks for those who contributed to our GREAT Class of ’85 Tailgates. (I was also able to rent our own dedicated class portable restroom from your donations which has received rave reviews).

Go Navy and BEAT EVERYONE…. Especially Army. Bob Smith ’85

Email sent 29 August 2018

Greetings ’85,

I am writing this looking at surfers on Waikiki Beach and getting ready for the morning walk with my wiife Sherry towards Diamond Head all because Navy is playing U of Hawaii Saturday at 1700 local Hawaii time. We have a GREAT crowd from our Class in attendance; as usual, the most of any individual graduating class (115 tickets sold). Thanks to those who made the trip and I will see you all this week if I have not seen you already. Check out our Class of ’85 Facebook group for the pictures we will post as we cheer the Mids to their first win of the season. So, let’s talk about our first home game. Charlie Smith and the crew in Annapolis have sent me this to attach:

I hope everyone is looking forward to another fantastic season of Navy Football. Navy hosts Memphis for the home opener at 3:30 on Sept 8th and our tailgate crew is already working on another great season of tailgating to complement our Midshipmen’s glory on the field.

With last year’s investments in the tent, trailer and gear, we have all the ingredients in place for an excellent tailgating experience. We are using the sign up page again this year and you can find the signup for the Memphis game here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A48ABAB28AAF49-memphis

The theme for the first game is Memphis BBQ. Charlie and Bill have agreed to cook ribs to get things kicked off. We will have cold beer on tap and other beverages to keep you cool. Please sign up so we can get a good count and plan to bring something to share with Classmates.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to Charlie @ Charles.M.Smith@gmail.com if you have suggestions or questions. Your feedback is welcome.

Home tailgates will follow the same theme as last year, we have the Class of ’85 Tent, trailer and tailgate site ready to roll out next weekend. Last year everyone pitched in to make this new and improved tailgate site possible. Those who came to any home saw just how nice it is to have such a quality tailgate each and every game. In order to help me fund class tailgating again this year, I will ask that anyone interested in a one time contribution to our Class tailgate fund ($25, $50 or $100) please send it via Paypal or Venmo to: MD11driver85@gmail.com and PLEASE indicate it is for the Class of ’85 Tailgate Fund being sent to friends or family. This will allow me to budget for catering and for beer and wine, as well as continued improvements to our Class of ’85 tailgate experience both at home and away games. We will still have our “Honor box” at tailgates, these donations will help add to the things we can do and will keep the food hot and the beer and wine flowing.

Next week, I will be sending out an email dedicated to our Class of ’85 trip to San Diego for the Notre Dame game on October 27th. I have all the events planned out, so it is time to start collecting money and finalizing my head counts at all the events. There is still plenty of openings to join us on this trip, the hotel block has a few rooms and the Friday night party and tailgate is WIDE OPEN. You can still get tickets to the game from local sources. We are over 100 people signed up for this weekend and I would love to see us reach 150 or more. Stay tuned next week as I roll out the schedule of events and payment information. For now, enjoy the Navy game late Saturday on CBS Sports Network at 2300 EST and look for the Class of ’85 about the 20 yard line on the Navy side in rows 6-10. Get signed up for Memphis if you are going on September 8th and help Charlie out AND, donate a few dollars to our class tailgate fund if you will.

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Email sent 13 Aug 2018

Class of 1985,

Some of you have already signed up for the Navy Notre Dame weekend, bought your tickets and reserved your hotel room and I thank you for doing this as it helps my planning tremendously. Now that I have the Hawaii trip pretty well planned out but not yet executed, I need to turn my sights to the Notre Dame game in San Diego on October 27th. For those of you not yet signed up, please go to the Class website and do so, here is the link: http://1985.usnaclasses.net. There are still a few rooms in our class block and plenty of rooms at other hotels in the area, so staying at the class hotel is not required to attend and enjoy any or all of the events. There are still game tickets available through ticketmaster or other ticket websites, so you can get those taken care of easily. I do not have the exact location of our class seating block other than it is on the Navy side of the field in or near an endzone. Once again, not required to attend the pre and post game tailgate with us, get your tickets and sign up. The schedule events so far looks something like this (all times are local or PST):

Friday Golf Outing: Time and location TBA, but will be morning at a local course.

Friday Evening Cocktail Reception at the Westin Gas Lamp: 1700-1900

Saturday:

Pregame tailgate party at the Gas Lamp Tavern hosted by Eco-Catering: 1230-1530

Board Buses to Qualcomm Stadium: 1530

Kickoff: 1700

Buses to Gas Lamp Tavern 30 minutes post Navy Blue and Gold

The approximate cost of the Friday night Happy Hour (Appetizers and Open beer/wine bar) $80pp

Tailgate Cost: (3 hours of food and open beer/wine bar) $80 pp

Bus transport to and from Qualcomm Stadium: $25.00

This once again promises to be a GREAT weekend for the Class of 1985 and so far, our attendance is amazing and I am sure there will be more of you that can now commit to this trip, so please go ahead and register. If you are not sure, please email me and I can tell you if you are on the list. In a few weeks I will start to finalize the counts for our events and collect money as necessary in advance via Paypal or Zelle. For now, get your travel plans and hotel rooms and game tickets lined up and stay tuned for more updates. We are working on a special Class of ’85 Navy Football Jersey that will go on sale for that weekend courtesy of James Gang Printing and classmate Jim Berdeguez.

Thanks as always and GO NAVY, beat the IRISH!! Bob Smith ’85

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Email sent 17 July 2018

Greetings Classmates,

As we all enjoy our summer and summer vacations, it’s time start the final phase planning of the Class of ’85 trip to Hawii in late August on your near term calendar, as well as the late October San Diego trip next on your radar scopes. We have about 90 Classmates and family members attending the Hawii Trip which is awesome and once again makes us the “Class with Class” as no other class will have half this number. Here is where we stand and I am still finalizing a few things, but need to get the word to everyone now as the final pieces come into place. Here is what I have in chronological order:

1) Thursday morning at 0845 we have a tour of the the Pearl Harbor area on the Admiral’s Barge. Please contact Ashley Yetman ASAP if you are interested as there are limited spots. Her contact info is: apy@comcast.net. Ashley has also posted this event on our Class Facebook post and you can messenger her there.

2) Thursday evening, classmate Rich Tilghman has arranged for those interested to attend the Hale Koa Luaa, Thursday, August 30th. Meet for drinks at 5:30 at the Barefoot bar for the 6:30pm dinner and show. “Navy 85” 808-955-0555 Aug 30th. You have contact the Hale Koa directly to attend, 808-955-0555 and tell them you are with the Navy 85 group. The deadline is July 24th at 2300 EST to do reserve. Remember, tell them you are booking as part of “Navy ’85”. There are fireworks next door at the Hilton that go off right after the Luaa ends. Rich says it is an amazing show and fireworks so don’t miss it. Contact Rich at richardwtilghman@gmail.com or he in the class Facebook group and always answers messages promptly with questions.

3) Friday, Rich has also volunteered to do a half day Island Tour for anyone interested. The dynamics of the tour will depend on the level of interest. Please contact Rich on Facebook or at the above email address to attend a tour he that is still in the making.

4) Friday evening, we will have a 1600-1800 Happy Hour at the Marriott Waikiki Beach, which is the class hotel. This will be an event designed to allow for classmates to then go off and enjoy a nice dinner at one of the many local restaurants. I will reach out directly to those who have signed up on the class website to share a list of who is going so people can look network with each other on dinner plans. I have request a cash bar type event and am still working with Marriott staff on this and will post final details when I have them.

5) Pre and post game tailgate for the football game against Hawaii on Saturday, September 1st; we will be teaming up with the local USNA Alumni Chapter for a fun tailgate event. This will include bus transport to and from the Hale Koa and Marriott hotels and game tickets in our class block. Once again, you need to sign up on the class website: http://1985.usnaclasses.net so I have an accurate head count and can set up payment options. Game tickets will be lower level endzone seats I arranged directly through the U of Hawaii football ticket office and will cost $40. Soon, I will start collecting money for tickets, tailgate and bus transport directly to my paypal account so I can pay for this stuff ahead of time.

6) Sunday, September 2nd, Rich Tighlman and his chihuahua will be hosting a party at his house and a beach trip for the day. He lives 1/2 block from one of the nicest beaches in the world: Kailua Beach. It will be a meet at 1200 from hotels for transport to his house where he has a nice pool area and it will be a full day of fun at his beachside bungalo and the beach. Once again, please contact Rich and his chihuahua to RSVP so that we can get a count regarding transportation, food, drinks, speedos (Charlie Giles?), etc. Once again, transport leaving from the Hale Koa and Marriott Waikiki Hotels and returning when the fun runs out.

We have a GREAT turnout for this event so far away and I appreciate this and think we have done a good job of putting a full schedule of events together for those making this trip. I want to thank Ashley and Rich for all their help and support in putting this weekend in place and please sign up on the class website and/or contact me with any questions. The Navy/Notre Dame weekend is coming into view and I will soon be coming out with more specifics on this weekend, but we will have a full schedule of events for those coming to San Diego for that weekend as well. Sign ups are on the class website as well and it helps me to have you sign up in advance. If you are going to Hawaii, PLEASE sign up for our events ASAP so we can do proper planning. I will soon have the tailgate info and will reach out to collect money for the transport, game tickets and tailgate events; so stay tuned.

Outside of all of the travel events, we are gearing up for another great season of home Navy Football games as well as events for the Army/Navy game in Philadelphia and will keep putting out info on these events as the plans come together. If anyone lives in or near a city where there is a home game and wants to help us sponsor a tailgate event or class party, PLEASE let me know and I can help you support it. So, keep enjoying your summer as I am and focus on these upcoming events if you plan to attend. Go Navy and Beat Everyone this season…. MOST OF ALL: ARMY!!

If anyone has any questions or is interested in the list of attendees, please feel free to reach out via email to Bob Smith or Angela Orlando or reach out to our own Hawaii tour guide, Rich Tilghman, via Facebook.

Finalized schedule to be posted as soon as it becomes available.

Aloha!

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Email sent 22 May 2018

Class of 1985,

First off, Happy 33rd Anniversary to our great class. I salute the 33 years of service to our country and to our communities and our families over the last 33 years by all our classmates. It’s so great to see everyone’s Facebook pictures over the last several years that those in our Facebook group have been sharing (no fake news here!). Pictures of our Academy days, days in the fleet or corps and all the years since. Great family photos of our kids doing amazing things as they all follow in our footsteps now that we approach retirement and hopefully more travel to Class events and Navy Football games together!

Speaking of Class travel, I have an important update for upcoming Class trips. First off Hawaii; I have been offered seats in the Navy section and since they were upper deck end zone seats I reached out directly to the University of Hawaii ticket office and they have committed to giving our class a block of tickets on the lower Navy Sideline. They cannot commit to the exact location yet, but that a block of seats will be available for the numbers we need. I will use the sign ups from our class website and reach out to those attending and confirm ticket orders since I will have to collect money from you via PayPal for these tickets and then have Rich Tighlman pick them up for us in Hawaii and get them to those attending prior to the game. More details to follow, but if have signed up to attend that game, you will hear from me. If you have not, please go on our class website and sign up to attend so I have you on the list as needing tickets (http://1985.usnaclasses.net). We are still working the full schedule of events for that weekend that will be published in the next few weeks, so stay tuned and contact me with any questions. News on the Navy vs. Notre Dame trip to San Diego; we have sold out our 150 seat block for that game. Tickets are still available via ticket master, so you can still attend the game and still attend all the class events that weekend if you were not able to buy seats in our class section. I still urge you to join us if you want to attend a great weekend with many of your classmates in a beautiful setting. The schedule of events will also be published soon for that San Diego trip and I will have to start collecting money for the Friday cocktail reception and the Saturday pre and post game tailgates, also via PayPal. Stay tuned and if you have not signed up, once again, you can do so on the Class of ’85 website. In addition to our 2 away game trips, we are making plans for the normal home Class of ’85 tailgates for this season and for tailgating at the Army/Navy game in Philadelphia. So, lots to look forward to this year.

I want to take a moment and congratulate everyone who has a high school or college student graduating this year as we ourselves celebrate our 33rd Anniversary of our Commencement. My oldest is graduating high school and I am a very proud father as I see him venture into the world like we did 33 very “short” years ago today.

As always, Go Navy and Beat Army! Bob Smith ’85

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Email 30 Apr 2018

This is the last day to order Navy vs. Notre Dame Football game tickets and our Class only has a few left in our NAAA block of tickets, so if you are a procrastinating, NOW IS THE TIME!! Here is the skinny on what you need to do:

On that page, enter 1985 in the block and you will be sent to a window to buy tickets in our block for $100 each (plus a small service charge per order). If this does not work, it probably means our block is sold out. As of this morning, there was about 25 tickets left. NAAA is sold out of their allotment of seats and you will then have to buy tickets from Ticketmaster somewhere out of the Navy and Class section. Thanks for those of you who have purchased tickets and signed up so far and I hope that those who want to be part of this amazing event, can get your tickets today if you are interesting in going. Go go the Class of ’85 website to register for this game and for the Hawaii game events if you have not done so but are planning so I can have an idea of how many are attending. I will have an update soon on tickets for the Hawaii game, they have not been released by the home team yet for purchase. When I do know something, you will know it too. Thanks and here is the link for the USNA ’85 website:

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The time has come to sign-up and plan for our Navy vs Notre Dame football game held in San Diego, CA! Our president has been planning for this with more fun yet to be put on the agenda.

Please take the time to fill out this form so that we can get a count of how many people are planning to attend each event. This will help with the counts, facilities, food, and/or other logistics needed to ensure a high quality event.

No money is needed at the moment. This is just for planning purposes. Thank you very much!

Name(required)

Email(required)

Number attending weekend - Adults:

Number attending weekend - Children:

Number attending Friday night happy hour event:

Number for a pre/post-game tailgate - Adults:

Number attending pre/post-game tailgate - Children:

Bus transportation to/from game:

Football game tickets:

Friday golf outing:

The time has come to sign-up for our mini-reunion event during the Navy vs Hawaii football game held out in Honolulu, Hawaii! Our president has been planning for this with more fun yet to be put on the agenda.

Please take the time to fill out this form so that we can get a count of how many people are planning to attend each event. This will help with the counts, facilities, food, and/or other logistics needed to ensure a high quality event.

No money is needed at the moment. This is just for planning purposes. Thank you very much!

Name(required)

Email(required)

Number attending weekend - Adults:

Number attending weekend - Children:

Number attending Friday night happy hour event:

Number for a pre/post-game tailgate - Adults:

Number attending pre/post-game tailgate - Children:

Bus transportation to/from game:

Football game tickets:

Email Sent 4 Dec 2017

Class of ’85,

Greetings again and it’s time for the Beat Army week news. For those of you who signed up for Frank Proctor’s event at the Pyramid Club, you know who you are and know the details so I will not put them out again. If you did not sign up, the event is “sold out” and no extra space last minute is available. (We’ll try and do this again next year or expand on it). Contact Frank with any questions, there is also info on Facebook. Now, for those of who are coming to the game who want to get together ahead of time, I could not a obtain “reservation” at the Stadium Sports bar located inside the Holiday Inn at 900 Packer Ave (our location on several previous pre-game tailgates). So, it will be “first come” on space as per the new manager. I cannot attend this year due to a last minute work conflict, so I will ask that those of you who are going to ARRIVE EARLY. They open at 11:00, so those arriving near opening please tell the hostess you have a large group of 30 or more coming and see what they will give you for space. I am sure it will turn out great and Class of ’85 will have a large gathering once again. It be in the low 40’s, so I am sure an indoor venue will be nice for this gathering yet again. I will post this information on the USNA ’85 group on Facebook and let you rely on each other to get this indoor tailgate done. I will be watching from afar and like you, SCREAMING like crazy for a Navy “upset” and to bring the CIC trophy back to Annapolis and revenge for last year’s loss to the Black Knights.

After the season, we will start concentrating on next year’s events: The Notre Dame Game in San Diego and the away game in Hawaii. So, for now, concentrate on a Navy win over Army and enjoy the Holidays. I will be back in touch early next year and we’ll start gearing up for future ’85 events.

Happy Holidays and BEAT ARMY SIR!!

Bob Smith ’85

Email sent 8 Nov 2017

Class of ’85,

Greetings. We are all still stinging a little from the current 3 game losing streak. I ventured to Philly to watch the game last week and it was hard to watch the outcome. We came back late to make it close, so maybe that is a good sign coming into this weekend’s game against SMU. Here is an email from Charlie Smith regarding the final class tailgate of the season this Saturday:

We had a great turnout for homecoming and I want to thank everyone who pitched in to help out and to everyone who contributed to the class fund. It’s now time for Navy’s last regular season home game and we are cooking up a Texas BBQ Pot Luck as Navy takes on the SMU Mustangs. We will have the grill fired up and cold beer on tap so bring out burgers, chicken, hot dogs or your favorite meat to toss on the grill. As always, bring what you want and join in with classmates, friends and family as we celebrate another great year of Navy Football.

Please go to the sign up page and let me know if you are coming and how many are in your party. Here’s the link to the signup: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/5080A48ABAB28AAF49-navy2 – you don’t have to sign up for anything and you don’t even have to enter an email address.

Thanks Charlie for all your efforts, we all appreciate what you and Kathleen have done this season to take our Class of ’85 tailgate experience to the next level. Moving on to future plans, I am sending some information from Classmate Frank Proctor regarding the Friday night Class party at the Pyramid Club in Philadelphia on A/N weekend. This is going to be a very exclusive and fun event, and space is limited to 150 guests, so do not wait to RSVP for this event. This is from Frank:

Bob,

Please forward this along to the Class of 85. We have 110 guests for the Army Navy Cocktail Party at the Pyramid Club in Philly the night before the big game.

Once again, thanks to Frank and a few other classmates for making this event a reality. I am working on a pre-game event at Army-Navy this year and will post that information soon. Until then: Go Navy, Beat the Mustangs and Army! Get signed up for this week’s final tailgate if you are coming please. See you soon, I will not be at this weekend’s game due to soccer commitments back home.

Regards,

Bob Smith ’85

Email sent 10/18/2017

Class of ’85,

Thanks to those of you who have signed up for coming to this weekend’s game and tailgate. We are around 60 people signed up for the tailgate Saturday. We could use a few more volunteers for bags of ice and a few more volunteers for tear down duty. This is a catered tailgate, so if you are coming and have not signed up at:

PLEASE PLEASE go and sign up right now! If you want to bring some food, go ahead please, but we will have a full catered BarbBQ menu from Mission Barbecue as well as beer and wine. Set up at 11:00, tailgate starts at 11:30 with food around 12:30. The tailgate will go for an hour or so after the game as well. As always, we will have our class donation box, to help us cover this weekend’s catered event, I am suggesting a $25 per person donation to the box (Thank you!) We look forward to seeing everyone again this week as Navy Football attempts to rebound from a tough loss at Memphis. UCF is a good team, so I am sure Navy will be ready for redemption and prove their toughness for the home crowd.

Friday night is our Class 32nd Reunion party at the Chesapeake Brewing Company. 114 W. Street, Annapolis. We will gather there at 7:00 pm and have our own area reserved for the rest of the evening. If you can come, that would be great, we hope to have a good crowd that evening as USNA ’85 celebrates another year in the books after graduation. We thank Dave and Carolyn Marquis for hosting our class, they will have some snacks, food items from their menu and beers and drinks available from the Beat Army Bar. If you have any questions about this weekend, please text me at: 502-432-6185 or email at: robertsmith5@att.net

Go Navy and Beat UCF and Army (Air Force taken care of!)

Regards and safe travels,

Bob Smith ’85

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Email sent 9/19/2017

Classmates,

I hope this email finds all of you doing well and hopefully excited about a Navy team that is 2-0 as they face the Cincinnati Bearcats this Saturday at 3:30 pm at NMCS. As we did last home game against Tulane, we are rolling out the USNA ’85 tailgate machine. For this weekend, Charlie Smith has asked me to put this out to everyone:

Navy is off to a great start this season with wins over Florida Atlantic and Tulane. The new tent was a hit and this week we will break out the new grill. It should be a beautiful day for football on Saturday – come out early and enjoy the day. The theme this week is Chili & Brats. I’ve already heard from a couple of people who want to show the Cincinnati fans what real Chili tastes like and who doesn’t like a good brat to go with their pre-game beer. We’re going to try out an online sign up this week but feel free to bring your favorite tailgate dishes. Beverages will include beer on tap, wine, sodas and water.

Here’s an outline for the remainder of the tailgating season: Fried Chicken (including wings) for AF, Homecoming against UCF will be catered and BBQ/Grilled food for the SMU game.

Please help us out and go to the link Charlie has provided and sign up to bring some food to share. This gives us a head count and makes sure we have enough and variety of food. As always, we will have beer on tap from the Chesapeake Brewing Company, red and white wine that we have purchased and people have donated. We will have the class donation box out and your donations that go to cover the overall cost of our tailgate equipment, the draft beer and other supplies purchased to offer you the best tailgate experience each game. Please remember to bring your folding tailgate chairs as well. I am also adding a portable restroom that will be at all ’85 tailgates for use by our classmates and guests and add some sanity to the lack of bathrooms at NMCS parking lot. So, Go Navy and PLEASE sign up today if you are attending and can bring something on Charlie’s list. I will be back for the Air Force and Homecoming games and look forward to seeing everyone then. Thanks as always to Charlie and Kathleen for being our tailgate hosts. Please email Charlie if you can help either set up or clean up this week, any and all help is appreciated! Tailgate set up starts at 11:30 and we usually tear down about an hour after Navy Blue and Gold. charles.m.smith@gmail.com Beat the Bearcats and go to 3-0!

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Email sent 9/5/2017

Class of ’85,

I am proud to announce that we are on track for a great tailgate this Saturday for the game against Tulane. The game kickoff is at 3:30 pm and the tailgate kicks off at 11:30 am. We are expecting at least a 100 people this Saturday and I have ordered catering from Bo Brooks for that many. We will have Beat Army Lager from the Chesapeake Brewing Co. on tap, wine and non-alcoholic beverages available. This will be the debut of our new Class of ’85 tent that many of you helped to fund. We will also unveil our new Class of ’85 tailgate trailer along with live TV at the tailgate for the first time.

I want to thank Frank Proctor, Marty Medve and several other classmates who are putting on a Memorial Golf Tournament in honor of fallen Classmate Kevin Bianchi this Friday. This is a charity event raising money for the Bianchi Family and for other military families who have lost a spouse/parent. Many of our 40 plus classmates participating in the golf tournament will be attending the tailgate this weekend and I ask you to thank them for all they have done in putting on this event. I have attached a flyer for this event for you to see what they have done and perhaps support this event. We stand by all our fallen classmates like Kevin and his family and always will; something ’85 takes pride and honor in doing.

Looking ahead, I have asked Dave and Carolyn Marquis to open up their Brewpub, The Chesapeake Brewing Company in Annapolis, the evening of October 20th from 6:00-9:00 pm so we can have an official Class of ’85 32nd Reunion party on Homecoming weekend. I will soon post a link for registering for this event on the class website and we will use that to get a count of those attending both the Friday night event and Saturday tailgate. I hope for a good turnout for this Friday evening event as well as for our catered tailgate the next day at the UCF game. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details as we get closer to that event. For now, come and join us this Saturday, please be generous in helping me support class tailgating by donating to the Class of ’85 tailgate fund donation box. Come ready to see Navy kick some Green Wave butt this weekend and Go Navy!! Regards, Bob Smith ’85

It’s the start of the home game season at Navy-Marine Corps stadium and that means it’s time to start the ’85 tailgates!

Join the class and the new tailgate setups to cheer on Navy to a victory against the Tulane Green Wave!

This tailgate will be catered by Chris Hannan ’94 (owner of both Bo Brooks Catering and McGarvey’s) with a Place Kick menu of:

Grilled ½ lb. Hamburgers

Grilled ¼ lb. Hot Dogs

Power Blend Cole Slaw

Potato Salad

Old Bay Chips with onion dip

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chunk Brownies

Rolls and Condiments

Beat Army Lager served courtesy of Dave and Carolyn Marquis (The Chesapeake Brewing Company). Limited non-alcoholic beverages will also be available.

We ask that those in attendance to donate at least $25 per person to the class donation box if you choose to eat and drink that day. For those that also wish to contribute towards the costs of the new Tent/TV/Trailer/Sound System/Tables, please feel free to throw extra money into the class donation box.

If you plan on going, please shoot Bob Smith a text (502-432-6185) or email (robertsmith5@att.net) with the number attending.

Take plenty of pictures and share so that we can share our class spirit with all!

Go Navy! Beat Tulane!

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Sent 8/30/2017

Classmates,

Navy Football kicks off the season with the first game against FAU this Saturday at 8:00 EST on ESPNU. We will kick off the tailgate season in Annapolis on Saturday September 9th against Tulane at 11:30 am at NMCS in our usual Tailgate spot. This is a catered tailgate and I have asked for those attending to please email or text me with RSVP. If you have not, please do so which allows me to order the correct amount of food for those attending. As always, I will ask all of you attending to drop around $25 in the donation box to cover food, beer and wine which we are providing (That is a cheap afternoon to say the least!). We will be introducing our updated tailgate experience with the new Class of ’85 tent, trailer and TV system. Beer on tap will be Beat Army Lager provided by classmate Dave Marquis. If you are in town that weekend, please stop by and say hi to Dave and Carolyn at the Chesapeake Brewing Company located at 114 West Street Annapolis. Good food and brews on tap….the Class of ’85 Bar!

I want to once again thank and congratulate the Class of ’85 Officers:

We will be working hard to keep the GREAT Class of ’85 tops across the board. Angela has updated our class website, so please favorite our site: http://1985.usnaclasses.net. I will continue to use this site as a tool to keep all of you informed on all things ’85. This includes information about tailgates and class gatherings. For example, we have the registration link for the Class of ’85 weekend in San Diego in 2018 for the Notre Dame game. I will use our class site for registrations for tailgates to help us get accurate head counts. Please take a minute to visit our site and update yourself on class happenings. Going forward, I will use less emails and more communication on Facebook and via the class website (hint!). For the Tulane game, still contact me. But going forward we will have sign up information for our home tailgates on the class site. Looking ahead, we will do a “Bring your favorite Fried Bird” (and sides) for the Air Force game on October 7 when we roast the Falcons; and the Homecoming game will be fully catered on October 21st. We have purchased a grill and will debut that at the Cincinnati game on Sept. 23rd. That will be a “Bring your own meat” tailgate. We are rolling out updates to how we tailgate, so more info will be put out as we get more content online.

NOTE: Pages for the various registrations should be up by 9/4/17. I will be posting a note regarding those as well as soliciting pictures, information for a class business directory, and any other suggestions you may have. Please feel free to email me directly angela.orlando@1985.usna.com ! Thanks all – Angela

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Sent 8/16/2017

Greetings Class of ’85,

It is that time of year to announce the kickoff of the Navy Home Football Season on September 9th against Tulane at 3:30 PM at NMCS, tailgate opens at 11:30 AM. Class of ’85 will be unveiling the new class tent that many of you so generously donated to purchase, as well as our new Class of ’85 Party trailler that will house a large flat screen TV and sound system that will be part of all home games this season (weather permitting). Charlie Smith and I have been working behind the scenes to take our class tailgating experience to the next level and you will see that when you attend our class tailgates this year. I appreciate Charlie’s support and if you care to volunteer this season to assist Charlie set up and take down for any of the games, please reach out to him at: charles.m.smith@gmail.com so he can get you on his schedule. The first game will be catered by Chris Hannan ’94 (Chris owns Bo Brooks catering and now McGarvey’s), he will be working with us again this season to provide catering for select tailgates starting with the opening game. Our menu will be his Place Kick Picnic and consist of:

We will once again be serving Beat Army Lager courtesy of Classmate Dave Marquis and The Chesapeake Brewing Company as well as wine and limited non-alcoholic beverages. We will ask all those in attendance to donate at least $25 per person to the class donation box if you choose to eat and drink that day. I will not be collecting admission for our class tailgates, but in order to keep up the quality of class tailgating, I will ask those of you who attend to keep up with the spirit of class giving and the honor code and put your money into the Class donation box. If you like what we are doing and have not contributed toward the class tent or new Tent/TV/Trailer/Sound System/Tables…. feel free to throw some extra money in the box, it will be put to good use.

Charlie and I are going to have a special theme for every home game and will soon be purchasing a gas grill to have at certain tailgates so that people can bring their own meat and let our guest grillers do the cooking and everyone signs up to bring side dishes according to the theme for that week. Looking ahead, we will do a Fried Chicken Day for the Air Force game on 10/7 and will do another fully catered tailgate at Homecoming on 10/21. That leaves us two more games for BYOF (Bring your own food) and we will announce those themes as we get more into the season. Charlie will be adding a sign up site so people can sign up to bring needed sides, this helps us get the right mix of food for those attending and not a 1000 bags of chips and no desserts. Unless you do not like burgers and dogs, just bring $25 to the first game.

I do need a head count for the first game, however, so if you are planning to attend, please shoot me a text or email with the number attending in your group: 502-432-6185 or robertsmith5@att.net so I can order the right amount of food and beverages. Remember to contact Charlie if you wish to help him out this season on our tailgate committee.

Looking ahead, we plan on having a tailgate at the Army Game in Philadephia at the Holiday Inn Stadium Sports Bar as we have in past years, more to follow. Sign ups continue for the 2018 Notre Dame game in San Diego. Here is the link to reserve your rooms: https://www.starwoodmeeting.com/events/start.action?id=1707110058&key=22EF9EF9 I have several reservations already made, so thank you. Looking really far down the road, I have contracted for the 2020 Class Reunion with the Westin Hotel. I will announce the date soon so you can make your long term plans. We will hope to once again raise the bar of excellence we set at the 30th Reunion.

For now, please respond to me about the opening game against Tulane and enjoy the rest of your summer. Go Navy, Beat Army and Tulane!! Regards, Bob Smith ’85

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Sent 3/20/2017

Hello Class of ’85,

I first want to apologize that my previous email was sent in triplicate. The Alumni Association was in the middle of a major tech update and I was the first person to try the new system to send a classwide email. I helped them find one of the “bugs” in the new system unfortunately. I have been assured the system is fixed, so hopefully this email only reaches you one time. I know how annoying constant repeat emails can be and I NEVER want to annoy any of you trust me!

First, I want to say thank you to the 48 donors to our USNA ’85 Class Tent GoFundMe campaign. As of this morning, we are at 65% of our fundraising goal or $11,885 of the $18,500 needed to get this done. That is ONLY about 5% of the class giving so far. I was, however, hoping for a more robust response to this request and I know it’s out there. I have been Class President for over 15 years now and have made every attempt to put this class as one of the best among alumni groups for reunion attendance as well as for fall tailgating and class travel. The Dublin trip in 2012 was a HUGE success, the class reunions (even one in the middle of a hurricane) have been very successful, fall tailgating has been someething we take great pride in and as a rule, we always have a place for all of you to come and call your class gathering place at each home game (some tailgates are bigger than others, but all remain well organized and attended), our class gatherings in Jacksonville this past fall and at all Army/Navy games and other select away games have all been very well attended and those who were there know the value of having a quality event. My point is simple: I have put in tremendous effort, as have those others who have volunteered, to make our Class #1 and I feel good about that goal and our efforts; I am now asking all of you to roll up your sleeves and help me out on this one by donating to the new class tent.

This tent is an investment for future tailgating excellence. Instead of me paying someone $2000 or more to rent a tent as needed for poor weather or large tailgates a few times each season, we will have a tent I can have professional put up at all home tailgates and it will last 20 years or more years. The tent has sides with windows (you can see what the tent looks like at our GoFundMe web link) for those blustery or rainy weekends so those attending can remain warm and dry; or have a shady spot on an 85 degree sunny day. Seeing our Class Crest displayed proudly in Navy Colors will also provice our class with a great source of pride and a homing beacon for those who do not attend regularly but expect a great tailgate when they do attend. We will continue to improve on our Class of ’85 tailgating experience and I have an energized group of local volunteers who took over this effort at the end of last season and they are ready to continue making strides to continually improve and upgrade the ’85 Tailgate. We are looking at having a Satellite connection and TV at our tailgate once again this season (having a tent to house this equipment is important), I will also continue to have FREE beer and wine at each home tailgate along with special catered tailgates a few times each year. I need the other 95% of our class who have not had the chance to donate to go to: https://www.gofundme.com/USNA85Tent and DONATE!!

Be generous in your giving so I can close out this effort and move on to other important class business: Class elections, the Navy game in Hawaii in 2018, the Navy game vs. Notre Dame in San Diego in 2018, this year’s Army/Navy Tailgate, etc., the next Class Reunion (the Big 35th). You get it….

Next, just one more plug while I am on the “Giving” bandwagon. I just renewed my President’s Circle Donation for 2017 (By giving $2500 to the USNA Alumni Association/Foundation), but this year I designated 100% of this donation to Athletic Excellence and it gained me access to the Yeager Pavilion for all home games as well as a priority for game ticket purchase for Army/Navy and other away games. If interested, email Matt Goff at NAAA, matt.goff@usna.com or call him at: 410-293-8963 and support our Navy Athletes. My plea to you is to give back to USNA no matter what you designate it for. Our Federal tax dollars only fund the basics at USNA and Alumni donations continue to be the life blood for the things that make USNA the greatest among service Academies and the best damn Univeristy in the World. Being a President’s Circle Member is a great experience and you get a weekend each football season that you are invited to join other PC members and are treated to special events and behind the scenes tours. My wife and I LOVE the experience and you will too. Give what you can and it all helps as you can see each time you step on the yard or attend a sporting event.

I look forward to closing out our GoFundMe campaign soon (so I can stop talking about money), if we go over the goal (which I hope we do), I will use that money for tailgate upgrades. It will be capped at $20,000, so don’t be worried just keep hitting the “Donate” button! I once again appreciate those who have given so generously and those who are about to give right after reading this email. If you give $500 or more, you will get your name printed on the “Donor Wall” of our tent so that others can appreciate your donation as much as I do. My name is the first among the $500 donors. Go Navy, as always, and stay tuned for more class news in the weeks ahead. Regards, Bob Smith Your Proud Class President

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Email 28 Nov 2016

Class of ’85,

How much fun to have a bonus tailgate with Navy hosting Temple for the AAC Championship game in Annapolis this Saturday. We will have a Class of ’85 tailgate at our usual spot starting at 1000 starting before and going until after the game. Beer and wine provided by our Class and the class tent set up as well. Please bring food to share for appropriate pre and post game tailgate snacking. Tailgate starts at 1000 and hopefully goes strong after the game to celebrate our first AAC Championship and then we set our sites on that “Team from up north” a week later in Baltimore. The post tailgate party is at Chesapeake Brewery on West Street Annapolis.

Speaking of the following week, we are still taking registrations for the USNA ’85 Beat Army Tailgate sponsored by Trident Home Loans (http://tridenthomeloans.com) and Classmate Marty Medve at Pickles Pub in downtown Baltimore starting at 1130 on Dec. 10. The link to register is on the Class of ’85 website: http://1985.usnaclasses.net/2016/10/23/army-navy-2016-tailgate/ The cost is $40 at the door for a great food buffet, drink specials in a private room upstairs at the pub and a GREAT time as we get pumped up for the game against our arch rival. Our classmate Jim Berdeguez has designed some awesome Beat Army Shirts and they are on sale at the class apparel website: http://usna85.deco-apparel.comThe ordering deadline is November 30 to receive them either at the game or your home prior to game day so you wear them to your Beat Army party. For those that order to pick up at the game, they will be available for pick-up at Pickles Pub at the tailgate (say that 3 times fast). PLEASE register soon if you are coming, I need to get a head count to the bar by early next week for their food order. We will be at least 100 strong and may fill the room to its capacity of 125.

In review, HUGE game Saturday against Temple in the AAC Championship game at 1200 with tailgating before and after starting at 1000 at our usual tailgate site; and then we set out sites on Army the following week. Tailgate registration for the Army game is open and the tee shirt ordering deadline is fast approaching. Phew, it’s hard work being part of this class! I will be watching this Saturday from Michigan and will look forward to seeing many of you the following weekend in Baltimore. I will put out news about a Friday night Happy Hour in Baltimore for those in town, it will be near the Inner Harbor. If you are going to be in Baltimore that evening, let me know. Safe Travels and Beat Temple!! Contact me with any questions: robertsmith5@att.net or 502-432-6185.

Go Navy!!!!

Bob Smith ’85

Email Blast Nov 2, 2016

Classmates,

I am proud to announce that the Class of ’85 will be honoring the memory of fallen Classmate Kevin Bianchi at our final home tailgate on November 12th against Tulsa. We are hosting Kevin’s wife Barrie, son Chris (a USNA youngster), son Kevin and daughter Julia and several other family members. The game starts at 1200 and the tailgate kicks off at 1000 that day and will go until after the game. Please bring food to share for this tailgate and our class will provide Chesapeake Brewing Co. beer, red and white wine and non-alcoholic beverages. Just about everyone knew Kevin (or Block as many of us knew him) and we can all say that he was “That Guy”. The one who made you laugh out loud and always made you feel good just being in the same room. We lost him in July of 2003 in a helicopter crash in the Med and still remember him fondly. Here is a link to Kevin’s obituary to help you recall: https://www.maplewoodonline.com/matters/bianchi/.

Kevin Bianchi 23rd Co

Rita Bianchi and son Midn 4/C Chris Bianchi after Herndon Climb 2016

Midn 4/c Chris Bianchi with Superintendent after Herndon Climb 2016

Please join us at our final home tailgate of the season to cheer Navy to a win over Tulsa and to help us honor one of our fallen heroes. If you have a picture of Kevin you want to share, please bring it to share on our memorial table that day. USNA will honor the Bianchi Family during the game and at a private ceremony and the Class of ’85 is proud to do the rest.

I am currently down in Jacksonville today and putting the final touches on our 31st Class Reunion. We will kick off the weekend with a Class of ’85 Meet and Greet at Alice and Pete’s Pub inside the Marriott Sawgrass at 1900 on Thursday (I am arriving at 2000, but sure the party can get started without Sherry and I for an hour or so). I have contacted all the golfers for Friday morning and we are all set to go. The Friday Dinner kicks off at 1800 at the Lagoon Poolside with a FREE Happy hour from 1800-1900 (this was given us by the hotel since their beach Cabana Club was blown away by the hurricane) and then dinner and cash bar to follow. For guys, dress slacks or khakis and a golf or collared shirt is appropriate attire and for ladies, a sun dress or equivalent (it may be a cool evening, so bring a wrap). Get there EARLY to enjoy FREE beer and wine! On Saturday, those riding the motor coaches we will meet at the front entrance to the Marriott Conference Center at 0845 SHARP for a 0900 SHARP departure. There will be staff to help direct you to our Academy Bus Co. busses and transport you to our tailgate by 0930 as we open the doors. For those driving or coming via other means, here are the coordinates of our tailgate parking lot: https://www.google.com/maps?q=717+Lafayette+st,+Jacksonville,+FL+32202,+USA&sa=X&oi=map&ct=image

The Bloody Mary Bar opens at 0930 and the tailgate will go for about 2 hours after game ending time and our Barb B Q buffet will be served post game with Cheese and fruit before the game. The weather looks great for fall football, dress appropriately. If you need tickets, please check Facebook as classmates have tickets for sale.

Finally, we have put the Bear Army Class of ’85 Indoor tailgate up on our website for registration. This event is Pre-game on Saturday December 10th at Pickles Pub from 1130-1430 with a 1530 game kickoff. The cost is $40 and our class has a private room upstairs at the pub. See the Class website for details and to register, payment is via cash at the door that day. Here is our link: http://1985.usnaclasses.net/2016/10/23/army-navy-2016-tailgate/ If you are bringing more than 4 adults, please add that as a note for my head count.

Okay, lots of pertinent info in this blast. I will only be doing Facebook updates going forward for this weekend, so watch our ’85 group page. As always, my cell is: 502-432-6185 and you know my email. I am excited to see many of you this weekend and take in a great victory over Notre Dame and some nice Florida weather. Go Navy and Beat the Irish (revenge for Dublin would be sweet).

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Email – 21 Oct 2016

Class of ’85,

Glad to say Happy Homecoming to the Class of ’85, I arrived in Annapolis this morning and am proudly representing the Class of ’85 at the dedication of Hopper Hall on the grounds of USNA. It is named after Rear Adm. Grace Hopper who many of you might remember from our time at the Naval Academy. She was a brilliant mind and at the forefront of computer technology back in the 80’s. The building is going to be a center of Cyber Security Excellence for the Navy and Navy Midshipmen and I am proud our Class was a major contributor to this dream becoming a reality.

Our home tailgate will kick off at noon Saturday at our usual tailgate site (spot 41) and I have rented a large tent with sides to give us a break from the weather so we can enjoy warm food and cold beverages and celebrate a Navy win over Memphis. No need to bring anything, unless you are drinking other than beer, wine, sodas or water. We will have fried chicken, pulled pork and sides provided by Bo Brooks catering and beverages supplied by Chesapeake Brewing Co. Text or call with questions: 502-432-6185. If anyone is in Annapolis and wants to get together later today (Friday), please text me as my wife and I will be in town for the evening and enjoying some time at the Chesapeake Brewing Co. on West Street. Otherwise, see you at the tailgate and game tomorrow. We will be over 100 strong based on responses, if you did not respond, you are still welcome to join us, we will have plenty.

The Notre Dame weekend, aka our 31st Reunion Weekend, is in final planning stages, I can still accept tailgate requests and I could use a few more to play golf. If you need game tickets in the Class of ’85 section, I have extras so please get in touch with me and I can take care of you while my supply lasts. Face Value is $85 for good seats. I will be sending out more info in the week ahead for those of you traveling down or living in Jacksonville with event specifics. If you want to attend, we would love to have you join us. We are well represented that weekend (approaching 200 for the tailgate) and the weather in FL is looking beautiful!

Travel Safe and I look forward to seeing many of you this weekend. Go Navy…. BEAT MEMPHIS!!!

Regards, Bob Smith

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Email Blast – 12 Oct 2016

Greetings Class of ’85,

After an impressive win against the #6 Houston Cougars, Navy has landed at #25 in the national rankings as they enjoy an unscheduled bye week due to the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew and the postponement of the East Carolina game scheduled for this week. The next game is going to be Homecoming against Memphis on October 22 at 1530. This will be the “big” tailgate for this season as we will cater this through Bo Brooks catering, and as always, have beer and wine from the Chesapeake Brewing Company courtesy of Dave and Carolyn Marquis. With a 1530 game start, we will kick off the tailgating at 1200 on the 22nd and food to be delivered by 1300. I need to get a head count so I can order the proper amount of food for this, so please email me at: robertsmith5@att.netif you are attending and how many you will have in your party. I appreciate those of you who sent me donations to support our class tailgating and as always, we will have the donation box out to help cover some of the cost of this tailgate and future events.

The Navy/Notre Dame weekend is approaching fast. I can still accept some last minute registrations if you find that you might be able to attend the game, the dinner or the tailgate and have not signed up as of yet. You can do this by contacting me directly or getting on the class website and registering for the events and I will receive that info and contact you. Some of you signed up and I contacted everyone who registered, but some of you have not paid me yet and I REALLY need to get that taken care of or it will come out of my personal finances to cover the required prepayment on all our events. We have a GREAT crowd signed up and I really look forward to seeing many of you in Jacksonville. If you are driving and need parking spot near our tailgate, you can go to this website and reserve your spot: http://www.jacksonville-stadium-parking.comThe cost is $40 to park and you will be a short walk to and from the tailgate and stadium. For those not riding the bus, this is where you will go to find our class tailgate on Saturday. We will start at 0930 with a Bloody Mary bar (beer and wine), fruit and snacks before the game and then have a full barbeque menu after the game is completed. If you have any questions, please email or call me: 502-432-6185.

In looking ahead, at Army/Navy this year I have reserved a room in Pickles Pub near the Ravens Stadium for our annual Indoor Class of ’85 Tailgate Party prior to the game. We will kick that off around 1100 on Saturday the 10th and more details will follow via emails, the class website and Facebook. Cost is $40 per person, $30 for kids 15 and under (kids under 6 free). I will have a sign up on the class website soon as well as the menu and event details for this, so please register when it goes up: http://1985.usnaclasses.net

PLEASE NOTE: I do not have any tickets or access to tickets for this game, as much as I wish I did. You will have to rely on other sources like StubHub if you need them.

So, lots happening in the coming weeks for our Class and for Navy Football. My wife and I will be in town for Homecoming and for the dedication of the Grace Hopper Cyber Security Center. Our Class is a major donor for that project and I am excited to see it finally open for business and proud we played such a pivotal role in funding it. Go Navy, Beat Memphis and I hope to see many of in Annapolis for Homecoming weekend or down in Jacksonville for Notre Dame weekend. PLEASE EMAIL ME IF YOU ARE ATTENDING THE HOMECOMING GAME AND TAILGATE!!

Regards, Bob

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Enail blast – 26 Sep 2016

Class of ’85,

Football season is in full swing and Navy has managed an impressive 3-0 record so far. Our Air Force and Army rivals have good teams and are 3-1 and 3-0, so we know the remainder of the season will get interesting as we fight it out for the CIC trophy and hope it stays in Annapolis. Our next game is at Air Force is this Saturday at 3:30. Chesapeake Brewery in Annapolis will have the game on their new big screen TV so anyone locally can watch the game, enjoy Beat Army Lagers and enjoy discounts on food and beverages. We are gearing up for our next home tailgate against Houston on October 8th. Classmate Eric Bowman is smoking some meats for that game in his Nuke Sub smoker as he has done now for the past several years. We will be asking everyone to please bring a side dish or appetizer or dessert and enjoy some cold Chesapeake Brewing company beers and house wines. Donation jar in place and lots of GREAT food and classmates to enjoy a great game. Looking down the road, our Homecoming tailgate will feature a fully catered event prior to the 1530 kickoff. For those in town the night before, we will have a “Class meeting” at 1900 at the Chesapeake Brewpub on West St. for those interested in getting a head start. More to come on Homecoming, but make your plans NOW. I will be putting up something on the Class Website to get an accurate headcount for the Homecoming catered event and will make an announcement soon.

Class 31st Reunion Update. Here are the current numbers: Friday Class Dinner at the Marriott poolside: 68, Class pre and post game tailgate at Ever Bank Stadium: 146, Friday Golf outing: 18. These are GREAT numbers and I am hopeful we can add to these. Registrations are available on the Class Website: http://1985.usnaclasses.net . For those of you signed up, I sent you out individual emails about your events and payment information. IF you signed up and did not get an email from me, PLEASE contact me so we can work that out. I want those of you staying at the hotel and attending the tailgate to sign up for the bus transport to and from the game. Many of you are still not signed up for the bus because I added the bus transport after you signed up. PLEASE contact me if you need anything and I invite all classmates to join us for a great weekend and our 31st Reunion Celebration. Please go on the class website and review everything we have going on that weekend and join us if you can. It will be the next “Dublin-like” event that we will all remember for years to come. Also, we need to cheer our Mids to victory over a suspect Notre Dame team. I just found this out today, there is a big Airshow at the beach that weekend with the Navy Blue Angels performing Saturday and Sunday (I imagine a REALLY good flyover at the game).

That is all I have for this week. We are still on track to conduct a class election in the coming months and I will start by putting an announcement in Shipmate so everyone is included. After the announcement, we will set a schedule for nominations and the actual election. If you have a desire to serve we would love to see you run. If you like your current Class Officers, you can also deliver that message. Cheers to everyone and I wish Navy good luck in the weeks ahead. I have heard great things about our home tailgates and attendance so far, so we look forward to the upcoming events at our Class of ’85 home tailgate. As always, contact me if you have any questions or needs. Go Navy, BEAT AIR FORCE!!!

Bob Smith ’85

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7 Sep 2016

Classmates,

To be more informational, we will do a weekly update for the fall football season to cover pertinent issues for that weeks’ Navy Football game (home and away) and any other class business. I hope this helps everyone feel connected and assists you in making plans for attending the home game if there is one or watching the away games at the Chesapeake Brewery in Annapolis and enjoy drink specials for our Class. Navy kicked off the season with a victory over Fordham and hopes to continue their winning ways against the UConn Huskies at 1530 at NMCS. As we did last weekend, we will have beer provided by Chesapeake Brewery and then ask everyone to bring some tailgate food for sharing. We will do a major catered event at the Homecoming game against Memphis on 10/22. There will be a special cookout at an upcoming tailgate from our Classmate Eric Bowman and his nuke sub cooker, so stay tuned. The tailgate will kickoff around 1:00 and will go until about 30 minutes post game. As always, we will have our donation box or I am still accepting season donations like some have done via check (THANK YOU!). Those can be sent to me at:

776 South Angola Rd.

Coldwater, MI 49036

Put “Class of ’85 tailgate” in the memo block and these will get put into our class account. In either case, your support is appreciated. I will plug the Navy v. Notre Dame Game again, (our 31st Reunion weekend), from Nov. 3-6 down in Jacksonville, FL. Please check out the class website at: http://1985.usnaclasses.net . Or contact me directly. We still have discounted rooms and plenty of space at our tailgate and other activities. We have over 300 classmates coming to the game and over 100 so far committed to the tailgate.

On a sad note, we lost a member of our Class this week, Chuck Merrit (15th Co) has lost his wife Debbie Merrit to her battle with cancer. We extend our deepest sympathies and prayers to Chuck and his family. Chuck can be reached at:

On that I will close this week’s update and as always, am here to serve, so if you have any needs or suggestions of anything Navy or Class related please contact me directly. If you any questions about Saturday’s Tailgate, please contact Dave McDonnell at david_555@verizon.net. Our Class Apparel store is offering free shipping for Fall Shipments of Class Apparel. Check out that site at: http://usna85.deco-apparel.comThese clothes are GREAT and wear well as I have now owned some for 1 full year. Support our Classmate Jim Berdeguez and his business while sporting some really nice USNA ’85 Apparel. We have the best Class store of any graduating class by far thanks to Jim. Okay, that is all…. See you at Homecoming as I will be in town with my wife to host that tailgate. Go Navy and Beat the Huskies!! Cheers to all.

Bob Smith ’85 Class President and party planner

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15 August 2016

Greetings Class of ’85,

As we all ask ourselves: “Where did summer go?”, things like kids in school (college or high school or others) and getting our Navy gear dusted off for another football season are now on the front burner instead of some distant thought. That being said, I am proud to say that we will kick off the home football season against Fordham on September 3rd at NMCS at our usual tailgate site. I will be coodinating the food and beverage support for that tailgate in the days ahead, but wanted to remind everyone the home opener is approaching fast and that the game is scheduled as a 12:00 kickoff, so plan on more of a post game party than pre-game event. Next, I am still actively working on the Class of ’85 “31st Reunion” to take place in Jacksonville, FL as part of the Navy/Notre Dame weekend November 3-6. The schedule is full and can be viewed at our class website: http://1985.usnaclasses.net. We have a sign up form their for those of you wishing to attend. It is NOT too late to sign up for the weekend and make your way down to the Marriott Sawgrass and join many of us already signed up for the events of the weekend. Even if you are not staying at the hotel, I encourage you to join of for the Friday dinner on the beach, the golf outing, the tailgate party and so on. The deadline for sign ups will come FAST, so PLEASE do not wait to get yourself signed up and plan for what will be yet another amazing Class of ’85 event. Email or call me if you have any questions about this weekend. I will be reaching out soon to those of you who have signed up already and we will start an email string specific to that weekend and those attending.

As tailgate season approaches, I want to remind everyone that we stopped using the outside drink vendor last season and we transitioned to having our ’85 Classmate Dave Marquis who has opened his new brewpub, Chesapeake Brewing Company on West Street in Annapolis, as our official Class tailgate vendor for food and drinks. We wanted to make sure that our tailgate was limited to Class of ’85 Friends and families and not all the town drunks, I think we have done that. Instead of collecting donations at the home games and having to track all that, I am asking for those who attend regularly to help contribute to our class tailgate fund and just make one donation for the entire season. With more money, I can do better quality events and cater more games and provide beer and wine. So, not having to pack your cooler with food and beverages has value and I will ask for a voluntary donation so I can use matching funds from our class account to grow our tailgate experience. I want to add a TV to our site and other enhancements and your donations will help. What is a fair guideline? I would say that $20 per adult, per game attending is fair unless you are not eating or drinking, in that case, just show up. You can send your checks to me and put Class of ’85 Tailgate in the memo. My address:

776 South Angola Road

Coldwater, MI 49036

This is not mandatory and we will not be issuing wrist bands or anything, BUT, if we pitch in together we can maintain our world class tailgating each game, afford away tailgating and proudly fly the Class of ’85 at our tent each week enjoying great food and Chesapeake Brewing company beer and wine.

Speaking of away tailgating. Our Classmate Mike Dashiell who lives in Colorado Springs has offered to host our Class of ’85 Tailgate at the Air Force away game this year on Saturday October 1st. Here is what he has given me:

Kickoff is Saturday at 1330 local and Tailgate starting at 1130 in the stadium parking lot – catered by Rudees Barbecue including beef brisket/pork barbecue/chicken, sides and iced tea ($25.00-$30.00 per person). Beer/wine is extra.

Please contact Mike if you are interested and I will have this info up on the Class website this week. Mike is at: mdashiell01@gmail.com or his cell is: 757-544-6518. I hope to make this game and imagine we will have some classmates eager to attend! Thanks Mike.

Dave and Carolyn Marquis will be hosting all the away games at the Chesapeake Brewing Company located at 114 West Street for those in Annapolis who want to enjoy food and drink specials and your fellow Classmates and Alums as you cheer the mids on to another successful season.

I am still working on the logistics of our class election coming this Fall so stay tuned. In closing, this will be another GREAT year for Class of ’85 with home and away tailgates and of course the 31st Reunion down south against those Irish bums from South Bend. I am also working on Class events for the Army/Navy game in Baltimore this year and will have that out to you and on the class website when we announce it. For now, PLEASE consider supporting the Class tailgate fund with a small donation and PLEASE get your travel plans in place for the 31st reunion. Cheers to everyone and BEAT Fordham and BEAT Army! Regards, Bob Smith ’85

PS: For those of you in need of some awesome Navy ’85 Apparel for the upcoming season, PLEASE visit our class store at: http://usna85.deco-apparel.com.

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Please see the updated Navy-Notre Dame 2016 Weekend page for events, prices, and payment information. New addition to the registration form is optional transportation from the Marriott to/from the tailgate at $20/person. Please update your registration (here) if you wish to take advantage of this. Final payment is due NLT 1 October 2016. Any questions, please feel free to reach out to Bob Smith.

Here are the menus for Friday night dinner and Saturday’s tailgate:

Friday Dinner – Golfer’s Grille at $135 per person hosted at the Marriott Cabana Club Beachside:

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EMAIL Blast 3 March 2016

Class of ’85,

I hope this email finds all of you well and ready for Winter to be over and Spring to start soon. Before we know it, it will be Navy football season again and that means Class of ’85 tailgates. It also means, each day we get closer to the our 31st Class Reunion in Jacksonville, FL. at the Navy/Notre Dame game. (We will still have a full slate of home game tailgating and special events all season long. A few away tailgates this year sponsored by Class of ’85 and volunteer classmates in away game cities.) As of this week, we officially sold out the Navy ’85 and USNA sold out their entire block of almost 10,000 tickets for the ND game. We are by far, as expected, the largest single class attending and sitting together. We sold a total of 286 tickets to Class of ’85 members and families/friends. GREAT NEWS!! Now, let’s translate that into a great weekend at the Marriott Sawgrass Resort, our Friday Golf Outing, Shopping Trip to St. Augustine, Beachside dinner and of course, our tailgate and Navy Victory over Notre Dame on Saturday with an 11:30 am kickoff. I have finally settled the contract and site logistics for our tailgate. We have selected to partner with Monroe’s Barbecue and Smokehouse catering and with an 11:30 am game, we have opted for the following menu:

Pre-Game from 9:30-11:00, assorted cheese and fresh fruit snack and a Bloody Mary Bar (beer, wine and other non-alcoholic drinks to be served). After the game for 2 hours, we will then serve our main course of:

The cost for the Tailgate will be $60 per person for adults, kids 12-18 $45 and under 12 $20. Motor coaches to and from the Marriott will be $20 per person round trip. The St. Augustine sightseeing trip will be $30 to cover the transportation cost to and from St. Augustine from 10:00 am-3:00pm. (Buses depart at 10 and return by 3). How do you sign up? We have put all of this on the class website and you fill out your form and I will contact you to arrange payment via check or Paypal. Deadlines for registering for Events will be October 1st. AS ALWAYS, it helps me if you at least sign up so I have a rough estimate of where we are in numbers for various events. I will to collect money for events by 10/1/16 in order to pay all the vendors we are working with to make this happen, most require advance settlement. I am optimistic that with 286 tickets sold it will equate to at least 150 at our class dinner Friday on the beach and 200 or more at the class tailgate Saturday outside EverBank Stadium. If you are driving to the tailgate, there is a 250 car parking lot adjacent to our tailgate and I will publish info on how to find that lot and even reserve a spot in advance. (stay tuned to my emails and the Class of ’85 website for more info.)

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EMAIL Blast 6 Jan 2016

Class of 1985,

I am VERY excited to announce the preliminary plans for our 31st Class Reunion in Jacksonville, FL. on the weekend of November 4-6, 2016. Navy plays Notre Dame in EverBank Stadium on Saturday November 5th and the Class of ’85 (like we did in Dublin 2012 and will again in 2017 in Hawaii) “WIN” the weekend. I only took a few days off in Cancun after the reunion and then back to the grindstone planning this weekend and so far so GREAT! Here is what I have:

1) We have a block of 40 rooms for Nov. 3rd and 100 Rooms for Nov. 4th and 5th at the Marriott Resort Sawgrass (where they play the TPC Golf tournament every May). The block rate is $179.00 per night and there will be more information soon on how to reserve your rooms.

2) On Friday we are planning a golf outing at one of the TPC Sawgrass courses (most likely the Valley course since the Stadium course will be closed for renovating). On Friday there will also be a day trip to beautiful and historic St. Augustine for the non-golfers. That night, we will have an amazing dinner party at the Marriott’s Cabana Club on the beach. (once again, more details to follow, but we are locked into this location for that night).

3) On Saturday (game day), we have secured a private lot just blocks from EverBank Stadium and will be building our Class of ’85 Tailgate (Sponsored in part by Classmate Jim Anderson of 16th Co.) I have a commitment from NAAA for a Class of ’85 ticket block at the price of $85 per ticket. We get access to purchase our block prior to the opening of normal ticket sales. I will have motor coaches from the beach to and from the stadium for the tailgate and game.

So…. here is what I need to get this going. On the Class website Angela Orlando has helped set up a survey for those interested in attending. I need everyone who plans on attending to PLEASE fill this out. You are not obligated by doing this, but I need a rough count for tickets so that I can give NAAA a good number to reserve for our class. I expect this to be a hard ticket to get because of the time of the year and because both fan bases travel so well. I will have a full roll out of final details and sign ups when I have completed all the contracts and setting up of events and web links. For now, I just wanted all of you to “SAVE THE DATE” and prepare yourself for our 31st reunion (no Hurricanes this year!!). Stay tuned and go to this this link for me: http://1985.usnaclasses.net/2015/10/24/notre-dame-2016/. Fill out the brief survey and stay tuned for more to come.

I would also encourage those you who have not taken a look at Classmate Dave Marquis new Chesapeake Brewing Company Brewpub under “construction” on West Street Annapolis to please do so. They have opened their “Plankowner” program to our class and I am proud to say I am an early plankowner in the Beat Army Bar. It will be great to partner with Dave and Carolyn for years to come in Annapolis and to have Chesapeake Brewing Company Beer and Food as a staple at our home tailgates. The link for plankowning is on our class website here.

Happy New Year Class of ’85 and no better way to kick off 2016 by announcing another GREAT Class of ’85 Event. Cheers to all of you and stay tuned for more good news to come.

As always, please feel free to email, text or call me: robertsmith5@att.net, or 502-432-6185 with questions or comments or join our USNA ’85 group on Facebook. Go Navy and Beat EVERYONE!!

Bob Smith ’85

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Email Blast 15 DEC 2015

Dear USNA ’85,

Class of 1985, I want to first of all wish you a very wonderful, safe and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year this year. Navy kicked off the season with #14 over Army as I am sure most of you saw and quite a few of you watched it with the class in Philly this past weekend. GREAT memories of a great weekend for sure. We will continue to support a Class of ’85 pre-game event in years ahead. I know many of you asked me about the Military Bowl, there is plenty of ticket information on the Navysports.com website and I suggest you go there for ticket and parking information. The game is December 28th at 1430 at NMCS in Annapolis. Here is the official website for that game: http://militarybowl.org/tailgate/. Our class will not be having their own tailgate and suggest meeting together at the Northrop Grumman Tailgate prior to the game. The Class of ’85 will meet at Fado’s Pub up the street by the Westin after the game to celebrate, so stop by and warm up with your classmates at Fado’s. Details available on the class website at: http://1985.usnaclasses.net.

I have a VERY exciting announcement to make in support of the Chesapeake Brewing Company and Classmate Dave Marquis. As many of you know, we have successfully partnered with Dave and his wife Carolyn both on our 30th Class Reunion and now at our home game tailgates. Dave and Carolyn are proud to announce they are opening the first true Annapolis Brewpub at 114 West Street Annapolis in the old Fire Station that was previously the “Crush” wine bar. As part of the new Brewpub, Dave is naming a bar inside the Brewpub the “Beat Army Bar”. The entire place will be a shrine to all things Naval Academy and obviously Beating Army is the main focus of life at USNA. I have asked Dave to start a “Plankholder” program to allow our Class and other Alums a chance to buy into his concept and give each of us a chance to support Dave and Carolyn and also be a small “owner” or stakeholder in his new bar. I have attached his Plankholder Application form that will allow all of us a place to call “Home” in Annapolis and see our name forever part of the “Beat Army Bar”. This is a pseudo “Fund Me” program and as Dave grows his business, our Class will continue to partner with him and always have a place to congregate when in Annapolis. I am proud to say I own the first plank at his new pub and encourage ALL of you to join me in supporting this venture as we will be the be the only USNA Class to be able to say our classmate owns a Brewpub on West Street in the heart of Annapolis. GREAT GREAT Christmas gifts for that grad out there or that son or daughter who attended USNA or that parent who really really loves coming to back to Annapolis for home games and dining. Here is how you sign up:

Chesapeake Brewing Co. Plank Holders Society Chesapeake Brewing Co. will be opening their new operations in Annapolis at the old Firehouse located at 114 West St. in the next 90 days. They have just announced that they will have a BEAT ARMY BAR for former and current navy personnel. They are offering for a limited time to any USNA CLASS members or friends of USNA Class Members, a ‘PLANK HOLDERS’ membership that includes some really great benefits. ‘IN PORT’ PLANK HOLDERS – Nearby Patrons $950. Commemorative Growler with 1 free refill per month for a YEAR Engraved beer goblet that stays at the bar with $1 off refills all day, every day Plank Holder Membership Certificate framed Friends and Family discount to host your events or fundraisers Special package discounts with any away events (i.e. 2016 Notre Dame vs. Navy Jacksonville being planned) Special notice of all Navy Sport events & specials Plank Holder’s Name engraved on the wall of BEAT ARMY BAR and date Special Chef samples when available while dining T-shirt celebrating the BEAT ARMY GOLDEN LAGER release Advance Notice of all tasting and tap take-overs Participation in Annual Founders Party & Sunset Cruise Voting on new Beer Names (i.e. Fear the Goat Ale or Goat Milk Stout) The growler with refill, T shirt, and Founders Party are only the initial year; all other deals and specials will be ongoing for original Plank Holders.

‘OUT TO SEA’ PLANK HOLDERS – Out of Town Patrons $475. Commemorative Growler Plank Holder Certificate framed Special notice of other Navy Sport events & specials T-shirt celebrating the BEAT ARMY GOLDEN LAGER release Invitations to all tasting and tap take-overs Voting on new Beer Names (ire. Fear the Goat Ale or Goat Milk Stout) These make a great holiday or anniversary gift option. This will greatly help with start up costs associated with doing business in Annapolis by getting it off the ground and in the right direction. We plan to have a BEAT ARMY BAR within the establishment, blue & gold Mid-garita’s, beers from Eastern Shore breweries and fun food options with a Eastern Shore flair, as well as events and musical guests. We will show all Navy sporting events as much as possible and will have a clock counting the days until the next Army Navy game!

The location at the Annapolis Firehouse, right next to the Lowe’s Hotel is a great place to have a NAVY BAR! There are ADDITIONAL BENEFITS that will be available to all Navy customers that sign up for our monthly newsletter/blog: BEAT ARMY! Show your class ring and get your first beer as the price of your graduation year. If you graduated in 75 your first beer is .75 or if your class is 2012 then you pay 2.12 8.5% of all BEAT ARMY Golden Lager sales during televised Navy Sports broadcasts, goes back to NAAA to support all sport teams as they strive for greatness. BEAT ARMY BAR will match whatever is raised! Free give-aways and drawings during Navy Sports commercials Free munchie bar at the BEAT ARMY BAR during Navy Sports televised with College Sports Network Invitations to New Beer ‘Coming Out’ Parties and Tap Take-overs Invitations to Celebrity Chef events and A&E Activities (We are located in the Arts & Entertainment District) Invitation to ‘Navy Trivia’ nights ** If anyone has Naval Academy/Duty Station pictures we could copy or any Navy memorabilia – that would also be appreciated. January is slated for necessary cleaning and renovations. The soft opening time frame is slated for mid February, depending on permits and license schedules. Plank holder form is attached:

Any Additional Information: (let us know if this is intended as a gift)

Plank Holder form and checks may be sent to: Chesapeake Brewing Company. 2103 Montevideo Dr. Jessup, MD 20794 You can email the form to chesbrewco@yahoo.com and we can send you an invoice for online payment. Carolyn Marquis http://www.chesbrewco.com/ Chesapeake Brewing Co. Regional Sales VP 443 783-5705 GO NAVY! BEAT ARMY!

Class of ’85, I am extremely excited for this opportunity to help get our classmate off the ground here and to ALWAYS have a place and a friend in Annapolis we as a class can call “OUR HOME”. I will continue to partner with Dave and Carolyn in our home tailgates and special Class events as have this past fall. If you have some cool USNA ’85, Navy or Beat Army memorabilia, Dave and Carolyn would love to have it to start their collection. (you are always welcome to come and visit it). I want to thank you all in advance and also wish you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year in all of 2016. Go Navy and Beat Pitt!!

Starts at 1130 and goes through 1430 in time to depart for the March on.

The Cost is: $30 for Adults and $10 for kids 12 and under. This includes a food buffet and discounts on selected beers and wine. PAY AT THE DOOR to the bar staff in cash or Credit.

Drink prices will be good for pre and post game if you care to return after the game to celebrate our win.

You can park at the hotel for $30 and be right there for the tailgate and then a 12 minute walk to Lincoln Financial Field.

So…. COME EARLY, STAY LATE AND BEAT ARMY!!

I have 2 Club seats in Sect. C4, row 7 (Navy side of course!) to sell. Face Value is $135 and I paid far more than that but am willing to make a deal. (I am still going but was offered seats in a sky box). The Club Seats are AMAZING, so if you want to make a last minute plan for seeing us win the CIC trophy and enjoy a mid 60’s December day in Philly, give me a call or text: 502-432-6185. See all of you SATURDAY and super excited, our group is over 50 and growing.

Also, we have rolled out a new line of Fall Class of ’85 items. We have 2 really great tops, one fleece (unisex) and one a lightweight athletic top in men’s and ladies’ styles and sizes. Check out our Class of ’85 Apparel store and get your orders in for a great Christmas Gift!! http://usna85.deco-apparel.com

I have seen all these tops and REALLY LOVE THEM! You will too.

Safe Travels and enjoy the big game wherever you get to view it. Cheers and BEAT ARMY #14!!

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Army/Navy

GREAT turnout so far for our Class of ’85 Tailgate at the Army/Navy game next weekend. About 50 and growing. If you are going, let Bob Smith know soon. It should be a great time this Saturday!

Military Bowl – December 28, 2015

No class tailgate as the bowl folks are controlling the parking lot for the game and NAAA is out of the picture. However, the bowl people are putting on a huge tailgate in the middle of the blue side parking lot. If you’re attending the game, stop by the free tailgate. Past attendees have said that the tailgate is a good time!. Game time is 1430 on 28 DEC. More information on the tailgate can be found here: http://militarybowl.org/tailgate/

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First off, My wife and I wish all of you and your families the Happiest of Thanksgivings and hope you get to spend it with your families and extended families eating large amounts of your favorite comfort foods and watching lots of football. Speaking of FOOTBALL! I am sure we will all be watching those amazing Mids this Friday (11/27) at noon EST as they secure the AAC West Conference Title and a home game for the AAC Championship Game on December 5th. If that is the case, ’85 will have news on our tailgate for that game. I am also very happy to announce the final plans for our 5th “almost annual” Indoor Tailgate Party for this year’s Army/Navy game on Saturday December 12th. We will once again be at the Stadium Sports Bar inside the Holiday Inn Philadelphia located at 900 Packer Ave.; the website of the hotel is: http://www.hiphilly.com.

The party starts at 11:30 am on Dec. 12th and includes the following for a $30 per person cover charge collected at the door (game starts at 1500):

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We are closing out the home season this weekend with our “Turkey Fry” tailgate that will also be catered by Dave and Carolyn Marquis and Chesapeake Brewing Company. Cold beer on tap from their brewery, food and fried turkeys and Navy Football!! The game starts as 3:30 and the tailgate will kick off at 12:00. We will have a donation box out and ask that if you attend and enjoy the cold beers and food that you give us a fair donation to help offset the cost of doing these tailgates so that we can keep expanding what we do and maintain that for this season and seasons ahead. This is the last home game and I ask that if you are going to the Army/Navy Game in December that you let us know on our class website: http://1985.usnaclasses.net (survey link here). We are working on a Class of ’85 at that game and will have more information on those plans soon.

If you have questions, please contact Dave McDonnell at: david_555@verizon.net. He is coordinating our final tailgate as he and his wife Laura have done for all of our home tailgaters this year. My thanks to Dave and Laura for their efforts in keeping our Class of ’85 Tailgate one of the best at NMCS each football weekend. We are excited to expand what we do and will spend the off season looking to improve our already strong tradition. Enjoy the weekend and Go Navy, Beat the SMU Mustangs. Regards, Bob Smith ’85

PS: I will be putting out information in the week ahead about a few Reunion items and our efforts to support our Classmate Dave and Carolyn as they bring to Annapolis the “Beat Army Bar” and give our classmates a chance to be plank holders of this exciting bar at their new micro-brewpub in early 2016 on West Street in Annapolis.

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Email blast Nov 5, 2015

Greetings Classmates,

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying your Fall Activities post reunion. My wife and I really enjoyed our post reunion vacation and it is time to refocus on upcoming events. First of all, we are planning to have a USNA ’85 tailgate at the Army/Navy Game in Philadelphia on Saturday, December 12th with a 3:00 pm kickoff (1500 for some of us). To make this work, I will need to get a fairly accurate count of who is attending and who would be interested in a “pay at the door” tailgate outside Lincoln Financial Field prior to the game. Local Classmate, Frank Proctor, and I are working together on a plan of having a catered event inside heated tents in the parking lot prior the game. With a nice food menu and beer and wine from Dave and Carolyn Marquis of Chesapeake Brewing Company, we are looking at about $50 per person collected at the door. So…. if you are going or think you may be going. PLEASE go to our USNA ’85 Website http://1985.usnaclasses.net and fill out the survey (click here) that you are attending or interested. Once we have a number, we can more accurately plan for this or see if this is even possible financially. We need about 100 people as a minimum to make this a reality, so PLEASE let us know so we can better plan our event. For those of you in need of tickets, I cannot help you. I might suggest StubHub or a local broker.

Next, we are in the early stages of planning a Class of ’85 weekend in Jacksonville, FL for the Navy v. Notre Dame game on November 5, 2016. We are in talks with the Marriott TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, FL (the beach in Jacksonville) for a block of rooms at a group rate and would have plans for a golf outing, shopping trip to St. Augustine and Spa Day at the Marrriott just to name a few. Class events on Thursday the 3rd, on Friday the 4th and a Class Tailgate in a spot we have rented that is only 2 blocks from EverBank Stadium. We would do busses from the Marriott to and from the tailgate and game. As we did in Dublin a few years ago, Class of ’85 will have a great weekend plan in place and it would an amazing weekend for those attending. I am working with NAAA for a block of tickets to the game so we can sit together as a class. Now, I need the Class of ’85 to tell me you are coming or at least interested. We also have a survey link (click here) on our class website (see above) for you to tell me you want us to plan for a USNA ’85 weekend in Jacksonville for the game. The reunion was GREAT and for those of you who went to Dublin back in 2012, you know how much fun that was. I am “building” us a great weekend, I just need you to come!

I will soon be putting out some post reunion information (how to order photos and obtain tee shirts and hats), so PLEASE be looking for that and bookmark our class website: http://1985.usnaclasses.net. as your resource for all things USNA ’85.

So, let us know if you are coming to Army/Navy and if you are interested in coming to Jacksonville next November for an AMAZING weekend and a victory over Notre Dame. As always, feel free to contact me with questions or comments: 502-432-6185. We will have a catered tailgate at the last Navy home game vs. SMU on November 14th courtesy of Chesapeake Brewing Company. Check the class website for more info on that game.

Regards and BEAT MEMPHIS and ARMY!! Bob Smith ’85

PLEASE NOTE: Don’t forget to fill out the 30th Reunion Survey here! We want to hear from you!

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The Navy-Notre Dame game next season (November 5, 2016) is being played in Jacksonville, Florida. We’d like to see who would be interested in attending, hotel rooms, tickets, tailgate, and a Friday golf outing.

If you’re interested in this outing, please fill out the below survey so we can determine interest.

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We’d like to get an idea of how many people are going to Army/Navy this year and how many would attend a Class of ’85 Tailgate (pay at the door) event. Please answer the following questions so that we can determine the interest level for planning. Thanks much in advance:

Name(required)

Email(required)

How many attending Army-Navy 2015?

Interest in am '85 Tailgate (Pay at door) Yes

No

Go Navy! Beat Army Again!!

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EMAIL Blast 15 Oct 2015

Classmates,

I am back on the watch after a very nice and relaxing week in Cancun. Thanks for all the kind emails and thank you’s Sherry and I have received after our Class 30th Reunion. It was such a treat and honor to see so many of our class turn out for an amazing weekend in honor of our 30th (Damn the Weather!!). So, in the spirit of keeping the positive momentum going, we are turning our sites to the next big things:

First things first. We need a head count for the Homecoming Tailgate on October 24th at NMCS against Tulane. The game is a 1300 kickoff, so we will plan on starting the tailgate at round 1030 am and will have our tailgate catered with food being served around 1130. Classmate Dave Marquis, who you may remember is the owner of Chesapeake Brewing Company and the “father” of BEAT ARMY GOLDEN LAGER, will be serving beer and wine as well. We need a decent head count to insure we have enough food and beverage. I ask that you PLEASE contact Dave McDonnell with your attendance numbers ASAP. We will be tented, so once again, this should be an all weather event. Dave’s email is: david_555@verizon.net. The cost is free, we ask that you bring your own beverages (other than beer and red/white wine which we will serve). Bo Brooks (who catered both the class dinner and tailgate) will be catering our food for us, so come hungry.

In the next few days, we will be putting out surveys using our class website: http://1985.usnaclasses.net. Our hope is to get head counts for the Army/Navy tailgate and a preliminary number of those who would attend a class weekend in Jax for the Notre Dame weekend next year. Our plan is to have a large hotel block at the Marriott TPC Sawgrass complete with golf outings, shopping trips to St. Augustine, a Friday (post golf) dinner and a Saturday Class Tailgate near EverBank Field for game day. Keep this in mind and stay tuned for more info. PLEASE get back to us ASAP though if you are coming to the Homecoming game. As always, contact me with questions or comments: robertsmith5@att.net or 502-432-6185.

Go Navy!!

Regards, Bob Smith ’85

PS I will be posting the website to order some of the professional photos taken during our events on Reunion Weekend. I saw them today and it was fun to look at all these photos and order some for framing.

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I know that many of you are used to getting the daily email from me now; well, I am taking my lovely wife Sherry and my very sore throat to Cancun, Mexico, early tomorrow for the week and I am putting my computer away while I enjoy the beach and a good Rick Campbell book, so you may not hear from me for a few days. Let me say this: A few days ago I got off an airplane to get here to Annapolis and set up early for the reunion after being up all night (literally). I picked up my rental car and headed to meet Mike Vance for breakfast at Chick and Ruth’s. In a discussion as we watched the weather channel I felt I needed a bigger tent with sides in case this stupid hurricane decided it needed to hit the East Coast for real. In an hour and a few discussions, we now had a 80 X 100 foot tent with sides on it instead of one half that size and the week began that way. At one point I got a text from someone who said: “That game is cancelled Smitty”. I thought: “GREAT, now we are going to have a reunion with no game and a few feet of mud and water”. I made quick phone call to a good source and they assured me that the game would go on, Navy plays better in deep water than Air Force and why give up that advantage? That is “who we are”. Okay, I then called my wife and reminded her she was in charge of the weather and she had not failed us in the almost year we are now married (it has been am amazing year by the way folks). She said, “What do the Reunion Shirts say Honey? RELAX and say a prayer.” Well, you know what I did and then dug into the weekend. I saw a few people on Facebook bailing on the reception and then knew I needed to remind ’85 who we are! The game was going to be played and WE ARE ’85. We survived being in Hack, the end of the disco ERA and carbureted engines, a tie with Army our Plebe year and Neeb’s Loaf; we can survive a little rain and mud! For those of you who came and hung in for the weekend and believed in this class and your weary Class President and his “over communication”, WE STUCK THE LANDING FINALLY!!! At one point yesterday I looked at our very large group of classmates and families under the 8000 Square Foot Circus tent having an amazing day and then noticed so many people who were looking in at us and wondering: “Who the hell is that class? I wish I was part of them, they look like fun and they look dry, and those oysters and crab soup and barbeque and “Beat Army Golden Lager” looks pretty good. I just came from a tailgate with undercooked wieners and warm beer and my feet are wet and it sucked.” Well, I then thought, this weekend would be PERFECT if Navy Won this game (you know how that ended), our reunion T shirts should now say: “Stay Calm and win the Commander-Chief’s-Trophy.”; but it would not have fit very well. So, when we beat Army this year, we know what it means right?

This has been a fun 5 year journey and collectively we have learned so much about our GREAT CLASSS. We have lost a few of our friends and Classmates and took a few minutes to honor and miss them. We hugged their wives and saw a few kids who miss them as much as we do. We met the Supe and he told me: “Bob, other than ’81, I think you guys are my favorite Class.” I told him: “I know why sir, our Class has some sort of magical energy and we ALWAYS WIN THE TAILGATE!!” So, I am signing off for a week and going to show my wife what a good husband does after all the support she gave me and this class in getting the reunion done. Someone told me yesterday: “Great day Bob, but I have a complaint.” OH? I said this in response: “I am so glad you are having fun and I think you mean you have a suggestion or idea and truly not a complaint right?” She smile and said: “EXACTLY!!” Let’s adopt that attitude going forward. I LOVE ideas and let’s keep having them going forward. If you did not get the right size shirt or shirt at all because we ran out (nothing like MORE people coming to a rain soaked weekend than less right?), or a hat or bottle of the Woodford Reserve Bourbon, PLEASE email me and let’s get you the right size or let’s get you taken care of. We will be talking a lot about Class fundraising and making the next five years of this class even better. Class Trips? Another “Dublin-like trip? (HELL YES!!) A nice tailgate at every home game? (HELL YES!) Free beer at all home tailgates? (HELL YES!!) A nice tailgate up in Philly for Army/Navy and a win over Army? (HELL YES!!) Another amazing weekend no matter the weather 5 years from now? (HELL YES!!). Take a few days and get back into life. For those of you who did not or could not make it, we missed you and will see you soon. Get here next time or come back and see us at the next tailgate or Homecoming. There are many people to thank and I will do that in the near future. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE…. tune into the Class website and my emails and I will tell you how to find our reunion pics on the photographer’s website, how to order your Class of ’85 clothing or items or what is happening at the next Class of ’85 tailgate. That site is: http://1985.usnaclasses.net. It is up and operating and better each day. Cheers ’85. I do love you guys and miss everyone already. Off to Cancun and Church Service. I have a guy upstairs to thank for all of you in my life and a wife who knows how to support me and keep me grounded enough to do this!! Safe Travels home and thanks for coming this weekend.

Cheers, Bob Smith

Your VERY PROUD Class President.

PS For those of you could not make it and I could not refund your money, PLEASE email me and we will get you a hat and your shirt in the next few weeks, we will ship it.

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Wow! What a day it was! a big win of Navy over Air Force and a record setting tailgate by ’85! Partying with 1000 of your closest friends – a story to be told for a long time! Whether you cheered Navy on in the stadium with braving the elements or under the big top, it doesn’t matter! From the Beat Army Lager to the big screen TVs to the fantastic spread to many other classmates who returned, it is something ingrained in our memories.

Today’s schedule:

0800-1030 – Farewell Brunch (Westin)

Morning – Church Services (Chapel)

It will be hard to say farewell to everyone later today. It is not really goodbye. It is we will see you later as our paths will always cross in one way or another.

Please travel safely later today!

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For those of you wise enough to attend to our Class Dinner…. NICE WORK! What an amazing evening we had. We hope to build on that today at the tailgate. The rain is diminishing which is good news. It is wet and soggy at our tailgate and we are going to do our best to work around this fact. I know in talking to many of you, that you are wearing appropriate footwear. That is a GREAT IDEA. The tent will protect us from the wind and any rain, but you will still be exposed walking to and from the restrooms and to and from the stadium to other tailgate. I know you get it and I know that this party will go on rain or shine. I do know this too, Navy is far better at the deep water ops than Air Force, so let’s come and root the Mids on to a PASTING of the Falcons today!!

Shuttles: Today to and from the Hotels to Gate one, and back from Alumni Hall until 11:30. Inside the Yard shuttle bus those same hours. This holds true for our Ladies attending the special breakfast at Preble Hall today. Shuttles to and from the Hotels to the Stadium starting at 12:30. Here is from our printed schedules that are in your hotels and on the class website:

1230 – 1630 4 SB Buses departing the Westin Hotel (EVERY THIRTY MINUTES ON THE HOUR AND HALF HOUR) for the USNA Stadium Buses will drop off and load at Stadium North End zone / ’53 Pavilion / Ticket Booth parking area Buses will be at the stadium throughout the game to transport back to hotels as needed

1800 – 1900 6 SB Buses depart USNA Stadium for return to the Westin Hotel and the Hilton Garden Inn 1900 Last departure from the USNA Stadium for the Westin Hotel and the Hilton Garden Inn

Where is the TAILGATE you ask? If you picture yourself as a Mid (I know… try that!) and you are marching into the Stadium, When you leave Taylor Ave. and turned onto the little walkway that takes you into the Stadium, we are the HUGE white Circus tent on the left bordering that Walkway and Taylor Ave, it is called FANFEST. I will have our Class Flags flying! We have 6 TV’s in the tent, tons of great food, cold beer, wine and then about 1000 Classmates and Guests waiting the greet you. Be advised, today is NOT open bar. It is for BEER AND WINE and cash bar for mixed drinks. We had to draw the line on pricing today’s Tailgate, and that seemed the smartest option (We made it up with better food and restrooms and other amenities, including the circus tent I had to borrow from the Ringling Brothers for today to keep all of you dry.) For those of you with a voice…. good for you! Dress warm and dry and come to enjoy a great final chapter of this amazing weekend. It has been so GREAT seeing all of you and reconnecting that we need to do this more often. Take the opportunity today and use our photographer and get a shot of you group, your company buddies, the guys on your Crew Team or Baseball Team or whatever…. YOU GET IT! See you there and call or text me with questions: 502-432-6185. I am guy with the hoarse voice answering. It may get loud today, so texting maybe the best idea. GO NAVY….BEAT AIR FORCE and we all know who is going to win the Tailgate no matter how this plays out.

Cheers,

Bob Smith

Your scratchy throat Class President

PS The Dinner Programs and the Class website will have info on how to view the weekend’s photos and get them downloaded or printed. Make the Class Website you place to be: http://1985.usnaclasses.net.

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Good morning to those of you who woke up in Annapolis and those of you boarding airplanes and packing your cars and heading out the door to come and join the rest of us already in Annapolis. Over night hurricane Joaquin has taken a slower and more Easterly track and has taken Baltimore out of its sights for the weekend. The rain chances are 100% Friday, 70% Saturday and 50% Sunday…… We are putting up an 8000 Square Foot “super tent” and spreading Straw today to mitigate the water and wind we will see. We will essentially have a portable sports bar as I have added more TV’s and speakers indoors and we are changing on fly to accommodate indoor or under tent tailgating. As about 25 of us proved last night at Ram’s Head, all we need is a place and add classmates and it is suddenly MAGICAL! Wear appropriate clothes AND SHOES for dealing with soggy grass and ground! We are opening the registration desk today at NOON and our shuttle buses start running to take you to the newly remodeled Mid Store (I went, it is awesome and go ready to spend your kids college cash!) and other points around the Yard. Take NOTE: You will have to de-bus at Gate 1 and be screened before re-boarding an inside the Yard shuttle. Take an ID with you folks, it WILL be required. Bring or buy rain coats (they have some cool ones at the mid store) and a good umbrella and the party goes on. We LOVE the way our reunion hats and tee shirts have come out and are pleased to be selling our super cool “Beat Army Golden Lager” tee shirts and some extra class store items. There will be raffles at all events for look for our signs if you want to take a chance and win some cool stuff and bring extra cash to ALL EVENTS! (apparel, Army/Navy Tickets and some of the awesome Woodford Reserve Bottles with our Class Crest and 30th Reunion Tribute on it are just some of the items). (more…)

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EMAIL Blast Sent 9/29/2015

Classmates,

We are now counting hours until our reunion and I want to pass along a few updates. I, unfortunately, can control most things with our reunion weekend except the weather. We are now watching and making plans to deal with the incoming weather that is being driven by tropical storm Joaquin. I ask all of you to WATCH THE FORECASTS up until you depart. Plan now to wear appropriate clothing and appropriate footwear for the tailgate and for your tours of the yard. It is fall football weather and we always took a chance of this and so now we are reacting to it. Bring umbrellas and rain proof jackets and patience as we do our best to mitigate this and weather proof our tailgate. I am adding tents and extra TV’s and straw. The good news, the food will still be great, the beer will always be cold and our great Navy Team plays better in water because that is what we do best at Navy (Deep Water Ops). Seriously, the large part of our weekend is under cover and we are working now to get even more of it under cover. Come ready to dodge the rain drops and I am betting I will sell out of my extra Class of ’85 Umbrellas that are for sale.

More good news:

One of our classmates – Rick Campbell – retired from the Navy and took up writing, signing a 2 book deal (which has been extended to a 4 book deal) with Macmillan / St. Martin’s Press for his novel The Trident Deception, which was hailed by Booklist as “The best submarine novel since Tom Clancy’s classic – The Hunt for Red October.” His first two books were Barnes & Noble Top-20 bestsellers and both are ranked in the Top-10 for submarine thrillers on Amazon out of 400+ submarine novels, based on customer reviews. He’ll be signing books at the Midshipmen store reunion weekend, and will donate all royalties from books sold at the Midshipmen Store or bought on-line from classmates to our class fund, to help defray the cost of paying for widowed spouses to attend the reunion. If you get a chance, stop by the Midshipmen Store to pick up a signed copy of either The Trident Deception or Empire Rising (or both!), or order on-line and send me an email, letting me know what format you bought (paperback, hardcover, eBook, or audiobook). This is a great way to help out a classmate, help cover the costs for widowed spouses, and you’ll end up with a great book or two. I’ve read his first book, and it was fantastic – you won’t be disappointed!

Also, we are putting together some really nice packages to raffle off for Charity this weekend. We are partnering with Luke’s Wings to support the “No Wounded Soldier Alone for Christmas” drive. I have obtained a few Army/Navy Tickets, we have a few extra special edition Woodford Reserve Bottles, I have some nice Class store items and I even have a package that is 4 hours of free shuttle service for a night out in Annapolis from Annapolis Bus Co. We will sell tickets at all events and at reunion registration so bring some extra cash and take a chance to win one of our fun raffle packages. (more…)

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Classmates,
I am sorry but I am running out of things to call these updates. First things first, USNAA has FINALLY reworked their web hosting platform and we are now at: http://1985.usnaclasses.net. We have moved on from .com and will hopefully soon have a redirect, but until we get that done, please re-bookmark the new web address. If anyone has issues or questions or suggestions surrounding our class website, PLEASE contact Angela Orlando at: aorlando1963@optonline.net. Soon I can update you to your face.

It has been a busy week for ’85 as we continue to support Navy Football and each other at our Home Game Tailgates. Navy had an awesome 42-21 victory this weekend over ECU and almost as important, Class of ’85 killed two kegs of Land Shark at our tailgate. We have made the move to our new Tailgate Set up and we will now provide cold beer to all who attend from our Stadium vendor. Moving ahead we will be setting up larger tents and eventually will purchase a larger tent and look to having a bigger bar set up and flat screen TV’s. It’s a process and I am working to get the best value and cherry pick what other classes are doing that seems “cool” or seems to work. Coming out of the 30th, we will build on this momentum to keep improving what we do. Thanks to those who continue to support us at all our Home Tailgates and I hope that those of you who do not live locally will make it a point to attend at least one home game and see how much fun we have. I will once again be organizing a Class of ’85 Army/Navy Indoor Tailgate up in Philadelphia and will start working that after our Reunion. (more…)

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We are now getting into striking range of our reunion, only 13 days and a wake up. For some of you that is only 2 or 3 more showers (you know who you guys are). As expected, the numbers are TOTALLY impressive and seem to keep growing. Thursday night at Fado’s has us at 411 people as of today, the Friday dinner banquet is at 473 and the Saturday Tailgate is at 840. We have the reunion shirts and caps in production and all the final plans are being put into place. As of today, I have a room at the Westin Hotel for Reunion weekend, access to a house in downtown Annapolis for the weekend (check out this link if you might be interested, a classmate reserved this on AirBNB and cannot use it: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2346962 ). I also have access to a few rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn, the Country Inn and Suites of Annapolis and the Marriott Springhill Suites. If you need a room PLEASE contact me as these rooms will have to be cancelled soon and turned back into the hotels.

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I hope September has started well and you are all enjoying the beginning of fall sports while enjoying some very nice late summer weather. Navy is off to a rousing 1-0 start and looks very well as they fired on all cylinders in the home opener. For those of you who attended or assisted at our home opener tailgate, thank you. For those of you missing the “drink trailer” and the large crowd, I can assure you we are looking at ways to enhance our class tailgate experience and will look at having special events at as many games as we can. I know this… The 30th Reunion Tailgate is about 800 strong and keeps growing every day. I am working with our vendors and caterer to make sure they are FULLY ready for our group and they have assured me they are up to the challenge. The same applies to all events as our numbers are EXCELLENT. The Thursday kickoff party approaching 400 and is now a USNA ’85 closed event at Fado’s featuring the draft beers from Classmate Dave Marquis and his Chesapeake Brewing Company. We are debuting his <strong>”Beat Army Golden Lager” </strong> and will raise a few dollars for veterans charities as well as kicking off our weekend with a few potential surprise guests. The Class Dinner is 450 attendees and growing with plenty of yummy food, drink and socializing all evening until they kick us out. (more…)

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First tailgate was a great success. Eric Bowman’s smoker was a hit. Plenty of food for all.

Plan for the East Carolina game on the 19th is coming together. Please note that everyone to bring enough drinks for themselves and a few extras for those who don’t. We ran out of water and it was hot! Had to drink beer instead. Update to be provided closer to the game on plans for food.

Stay tuned for pictures!

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Greetings and Happy Labor Day weekend. As we kick off the Fall Navy Football and Class of ’85 Tailgate season at NMCMS this weekend against Colgate at our Class Kickoff tailgate, the excitement starts and the tradition continues. You can see information about our class tailgate on the class website: <a href=”http://1985.usnaclasses.com”>http://1985.usnaclasses.com</a>. Enjoy a GREAT tailgate for those of you attending. Skip McDonnell and crew will have the tailgate buzzing and please remember to bring a side dish and BYOB for drinks as we kick off the “new area” of Old School Tailgaters.
>
Now let’s talk Reunion: We are officially in the IMPRESSIVE region for numbers of those attending; NICE WORK! Now, we still have some folks sitting on the sideline. Today is the final day to get your name printed on your reunion nametag as I must submit that list to my vendor for printing. We will have blanks and Sharpies so do not fret if you have to wait to commit. Today is also the cutoff for those of you who want to play golf in the Joint USNA ’85 and the USAFA Association of Graduates outing at Renditions Golf Course. A truly amazing outing and you can sign up today at: <a href=”http://golf.usafa.org/WashingtonDC”>http://golf.usafa.org/WashingtonDC</a>. If you have golf related questions, please email or call Danny Yurovich ’85: yurovich@msn.com or (717) 571-6260. For those you already signed up, you will need to drive yourself to the course or work with Dan on a carpool to the course. This is due to the early hour and the fact our golfers are too spread out to provide cost efficient bus transport. I have put that money into some fun gifts and prizes for the players.

For those of you who mentioned you needed babysitting and for those of you who need babysitting for the dinner on Friday, PLEASE contact me as I have babysitters and I have a conference room at the Westin Hotel we will turn into “Kids Paradise” on Friday evening with teenage daughters of fellow classmates staffing our room under the careful watch of hotel staff. I want to build my final list. We can plan babysitting to start at 1730 and lasting until 2200. Contact me about this if you need this service.

For those of you who have ordered our class apparel, I have received some VERY positive feedback. Thanks for ordering and I encourage the rest of you to get on our apparel site and do some shopping: <a href=”http://usna85.deco-apparel.com”>http://usna85.deco-apparel.com</a>. All our events continue to grow in number and scope. Encourage your classmates and company mates to get on board for this epic reunion. Volunteers for our registration desk are still being accepted, please contact me and I appreciate those of you who have stepped up to volunteer already and I will be assigning shift times soon starting Thursday at Noon and going until Friday at 1700. I have hired some full time staff to assist us at the Registration Desk as well. For our female Class of ’85 Classmates, Ashley Yetman and some others have organized a “Lady’s of ’85 Breakfast” at Preble Hall on Saturday Morning of the Reunion weekend at Preble Hall from 0900-1100. Please contact Ashley to join this group of female classmates reconnecting in honor of our 30th Reunion: aply@comcast.net
We have hired a photographer to be at our major events throughout the weekend and he will have a website to order downloadable prints or actual prints after the reunion weekend. We will do a special group shot at the Tailgate with a Drone (not a Raptor!); once again setting the standard for USNA Class Reunions. We have also obtained some graduation proofs and a video from the Library of Congress and will try and have individual prints from Graduation available through our photographer coming out of this
For those attending the Thursday Night party, we will be kicking off the first pints of the new: Beat Army Golden Lager and selling them for $4.85 per pint and raising money for Luke’s Flight Charity and Navy Athletics. We may have a few special guests (The Gorilla? Roger Staubach? Chesty Puller? Garcia himself?) to help roll this Beer out and we will be selling special Edition: Beat Army Golden Lager Apparel. This beer will be featured at other reunion events courtesy of Dave Marquis ’85 and his Chesapeake Brewing Company. For those of you in town Wednesday, we are announcing a “Pre-Pre kickoff” Happy Hour and Pub Crawl starting at Ramshead Tavern at 1700, if you happen to be in town or live there, come and join me and my host for that evening: Mike “Pig” Vance as we get the reunion rolling.

Okay ’85….. we are 26 days and counting to the Naval Academy’s GREATEST EVER Reunion and our 30th Reunion. Email, text or call with questions, comments or needs.

Regards and Go Navy, Beat the Colgate Raiders!

Bob Smith ’85

P.S. Steve Pimpo is still taking information for the Class Briefing notes at: sjpimpo@comcast.netWe are also looking for corporate partners to help us raise money for our Class of ’85 Charities. I am proud to announce Peter Martino ’85 and his business Annapolis Teas has recently joined us as a major sponsor.

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Class of ’85,
We are excited to announce the first Class of ’85 Tailgate of the 2015 Navy Football Season on Saturday September 5th vs. Colgate. It will be in the usual ’85 tailgate spot (where the old quonset hut used to be along the Taylor Blvd. side of the parking lot). Classmate Eric Bowman and his wife, Vlasta Miksch, will be roasting assorted meats on his “Nuke Sub” cooker. The game starts at noon on Sept. 5th, so plan on light tailgating prior to the game and then food served after the game. If you plan to attend, please bring an appetizer, side dish to accompany grilled meats (chicken and pork, possibly lamb) or a dessert along with a few plates to serve it on (keep in mind your dish may be sitting until after the game prior to being served, so plan accordingly). Bring your own beverages and coolers with your drinks of choice, folding chairs and any other tailgate items to add to the party. Class of ’85 is going “Old School” starting this season on our tailgate parties as promised. No more Moveable Mixtures drink trailer (we had a good run, but time to get back to basics). After the Navy Game we will have other college games on a TV at our tailgate site and we will have music from our new class bluetooth party speaker. Come and enjoy the fun. We will post info on our class website at: http://1985.usnaclasses.com. Come out and kick off the Navy Football Season in style folks and enjoy a GREAT afternoon of football, food and tailgating with plenty of your Class of ’85 Classmates and families. If you have questions, please contact our ’85 Tailgate Coodinator: Dave McDonnell at: david_555@verizon.net. We will continue the great tradition of home game tailgates all season and will add a special catered event (in addition to our 30th Class Reunion on 10/1-10/4) for Homecoming this year which is October 24 vs. Tulane. (Information will be kept up to date on the class website, so refer to that site if you are attending any of the games to see what is happening at the USNA ’85 Tailgate Party.) I will have another 30th Reunion Update soon, but wanted to get the word out about our opening Class of ’85 Tailgate party so you can plan your attendance. As always, GO NAVY and BEAT ARMY (And everyone else)!